PLANS FOR A contentious €1 billion data centre campus and solar farm on a 600 acre site in County Westmeath have been stalled.

This follows 10 separate third party appeals being lodged with An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) against a decision last month by Westmeath County Council granting planning permission to Red Admiral DC Ltd for the scheme.

Red Admiral DC Ltd, which is owned by Offaly businessman Nigel Reams and forms part of his Lumcloon Energy Group, secured planning permission for a six unit data centre and a decentralised energy resource on townlands across Rochfortbridge, Co Westmeath.

The Council granted planning permission despite local opposition with 55 submissions lodged concerning the initial plans.

Now, 10 third party appeals have been lodged by David Mahon, Eamon Duigenan, Frank Kelly & Others, Mary Joe Kelly, John Conway and Louth Environmental Group, Stefania Oggioni, Martin Knox, Gerard Carey, William Carey and Damien Gavin.

One of the appellants is local farmer, William Carey who has told ACP that he is making the appeal on behalf of his wife, four children, his uncle and himself.

Carey is seeking an ACP oral hearing into the application and has told the Commission that “overall, we believe that this development will have a significant and long-lasting impact on our home, our family, our farming activities and the wider local community”.

Carey says that “the cumulative effects of increased traffic, noise, vibration, light pollution, visual intrusion and pressure on local infrastructure would fundamentally change the character of this rural area and reduce the quality of life for those who live and work here”.

Carey contends that the planning system should balance economic development with the protection of communities, the environment and the public interest.

He said: “In this case, that balance has not been achieved.”

An Ennis resident, Martin Knox has told ACP that the application should be refused as the greenhouse emissions from the data centre “are enormous and climate damaging”.

The applicant told the council that the data campus could emit 493,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum and in one of the 32 conditions attached to the permission, the council state that prior to the commencement of the project, the applicant is to submit details of a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) demonstrating that electricity consumed by the development is matched by new renewable electricity generation.

The council stated that it was including the condition “in the interests of climate action and sustainable development”.

In another appeal, Stefania Oggioni stated that “I find that this development raises many grave concerns on its impact, in particular on Environmental and Biodiversity, but also on its impact on the health and social cohesion of the local community and beyond, and that these concerns have not been satisfactorily addressed at the earlier stages of this process”.

The 75-page council planner’s report which recommended that planning permission be granted concluded that the proposal represents “a coordinated and strategically located infrastructure development that makes efficient use of existing energy and telecommunications infrastructure, including the established grid connection serving the site”.

The council report further stated that “the proposed development also aligns with national planning and energy policy objectives relating to the delivery of strategic infrastructure, efficient grid utilisation, and the sustainable integration of large-scale digital infrastructure within appropriate locations.

Endorsing the scheme, the report also states that the development “will support Ireland’s role as a leading location for technology investment and digital services, contributing to national economic growth, enterprise development, and wider strategic infrastructure objectives”.

The report states that the revised campus-style layout, enhanced landscape strategy, increased setbacks, reduced building heights, and additional mitigation measures collectively improve the integration of the development within the receiving environment and reduce the visual and landscape impacts associated with the proposal.

The report states that “the development will also contribute to employment generation, economic activity, and engagement opportunities with local services and enterprises”.

A decision is due on the appeal in October.