Praise for Usk community

The chairman of the Usk anti-dump campaign has praised the local community for sticking with the fight against the project.

Pat Higgins of Usk & District Residents Association Ltd says they were 'absolutely fantastic' over the nine-year campaign, which they won in the Commercial High Court last week.

"They deserve the praise of the world for what they have gone through and what they have raised to try and keep this thing going," he told the Diary. "There were times when the campaign seemed to be at death's door and they have pulled something out of the fire. Words can't describe the support, the camaraderie, everything that has been there.”

The judgement decided that the process by which the decision to grant planning permission to Greenstar Ltd by An Bord Pleanala, on two occasions, was flawed from as early as 2001. The case has cost some €3m of taxpayer’s money, and local residents also had to raise €500,000 to pay for the progress of their case.

In 2006 An Bord Pleanala granted permission to Greenstar for the Usk Dump, against its own inspector's recommendations and despite the fact that Kildare County Council had previously nominated a site at Drehid in North Kildare as the location for a new ‘super’ waste facility for the county.

The campaign obtained a successful High Court judicial review of the decision of the Bord. However, following three oral hearings and many deferrals the permission was again granted in August of 2009.

The decision of this second judicial review is open to appeal to the Supreme Court.

"But everybody is hoping that this is the end to it," Pat Higgins says, "and they can get on with their lives without the fear of health hazards hanging over them."