Concern over wind turbines at Clonroche

Residents of the Clonroche area are due to host an open public meeting on Thursday night to address concerns over the potential construction of three large wind turbines at Ballinaclay Hill.

Planning permission for the project has been sought by Ballinaclay Windfarms Ltd and an application was lodged with the council on December 22. Listed in the plans are three wind turbines which will stand at up to 85 metres in height and an electricity substation and ancillary buildings.

The application has been a cause for great concern among the local community and thus it was decided that a meeting on the matter should take place on Thursday evening at 8 p.m. in the Clonroche Community Centre.

“It’s basically just a public information meeting,” said local resident Ann Murphy. “A lot of locals are extremely upset by the application and don’t want it going ahead.”

In addition to fears that the large turbines would massively take away from the scenery of the local area, residents also fear that if these three turbines go ahead, it will lead to more turbines being placed in the locality.

“If you look at the County Development Plan, you’ll see that the whole area from here down to Adamstown is listed as being “acceptable in principle” for windfarms. The worry for the local community here is that this could just be the start. Who’s to say that in a few years someone else won’t come along and want to put more of these things up?”

Residents of the Clonroche area who are concerned about the construction of wind turbines in the area are encouraged to come along to the public meeting on Thursday night to have their say.