Council refuses extension of plans for Tipperary anaerobic digester plant
Extension refused as council says no substantial works done at Roscrea AD site
Tipperary County Council has refused an application seeking to extend the lifetime of planning permission for a proposed anaerobic digestion plant at Sandymount Farms in Ballingarry, near Roscrea.
The decision, issued on June 5, relates to a previously approved renewable energy development planned by Robert Clarke. The original permission for the project was granted in 2021 and remains valid until September 2026, but planning law requires that substantial works must already have commenced on a site in order for an extension of duration to be approved.
The proposed development is a large-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) facility designed to produce biomethane from agricultural feedstocks. If it had progressed, the plant would have processed around 29,800 tonnes of farm-based material each year to generate renewable energy.
The project would have included a wide range of infrastructure typical of an industrial energy facility, including anaerobic digester tanks, storage tanks for digestate and methane, a biogas upgrading system, a combined heat and power unit, feedstock storage areas, and a range of supporting site works. Additional elements included a reception building, weighbridge, truck loading areas, drainage and wastewater systems, an ESB substation, and new site access off the L1071 road.
A site inspection carried out on March 25 of this year confirmed that no construction works had commenced on the proposed development site.
While the application stated that no physical development had begun, it also noted that significant time and resources had already been invested in progressing the project, including meetings, consultancy work, and industry engagement.
The applicant’s submission also outlined that the project had recently qualified for support under a Government biomethane capital grant scheme, with a letter of offer from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine included in the file.
Reference was also made to national energy policy, including the National Biomethane Strategy published in 2024, which sets out targets for increased biomethane production in Ireland by 2030.
The application further stated that funding of €40 million has been allocated for a capital grant scheme to support biomethane production, subject to approval at EU level, and highlighted that the Renewable Fuel Obligation, referenced in national policy, has yet to be finalised.
It was also argued that such policy measures are considered essential for the commercial viability of the facility, and that construction could not proceed without them.
Despite these points, the council noted that no physical works had taken place on site at the time of inspection. Planning permission generally lapses after five years if construction has not commenced.
Therefore, the council’s decision focused on the status of the development to date rather than the principle of the project itself. As a result, they determined that the threshold for “substantial works” required under planning legislation had not been met and therefore the application could not be approved.
The planner’s report states: “It cannot be concluded that substantial works were carried out pursuant to planning application reference 201340, or that the development will be completed within a reasonable timeframe.”
The decision may be appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála within four weeks of the date of the council’s ruling, which in this case was June 5.