High Court quashes the refusal of planning permission for a proposed wind farm development, finding that the planning board indirectly considered a submission regarding environmental impacts that was not disclosed to the applicant. The board's reliance on an Appropriate Assessment (AA) that included information from an external submission about a nearby solar farm development led to the conclusion that the proposed wind farm could adversely affect the integrity of a Special Protection Area (SPA) for Whooper Swans. The court determined that the board's failure to notify the applicant of this submission breached an applicable statute, thus vitiating the decision. The case was remitted for reconsideration in accordance with the law.
Wind farm development, County Cork, planning permission refusal, High Court, environmental impact assessment (EIA), appropriate assessment (AA), Special Protection Area (SPA), Whooper Swans, indirect consideration, external submission, Ballyroe solar farm, procedural breach, Section 137(2) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, certiorari, remittal.