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The managing director of the West Clare
Railway has claimed that a planned €200 million windfarm
- with pylons topping 400ft - would place the railway’s
future development in considerable doubt.
The developer - West Coastal Wind Power Ltd - envisages
erecting up to 45 of the 415ft-high units.
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The project has divided opinion in the West
Clare coastal community of Doonbeg, where 79 landowners are
due to share an unspecified windfall from land leases.
The West Clare Railway operates in the same parish of Shragh,
the proposed site of the windfarm.
In his objection, managing director of the tourist attraction,
Jackie Whelan claims "the adverse visual impact on any extra
turbines on the landscape will have such a devastating effect
on the economy, community and amenity value of the area, that
the railway’s future development in the same district is placed
in considerable doubt".
Mr Whelan recently announced plans to extend
the rail line to serve Kilrush. The appeals board
has received 78 submissions with the Irish Peatland Conservation
Council and state agency Inland Fisheries Ireland expressing
further concerns. In its objection, the IPCC said
planning permission would set "a very bad example for nature
conservation and could compromise Ireland’s commitment to
conserving protected areas throughout the country".
In a submission on behalf of a number of local residents
opposed to the plan, architect Michael Leahy said "the proposed
development is unprecedented in scale for this county and,
indeed, for any part of this country so close to the coastline".
Doonbeg Community Development Ltd also voiced opposition.
The appeals board is expected to hold an oral hearing before
reaching a decision in May.
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