Residents and councillors in Mullingar town are furious and shocked that planning permission for a 24-hour processing plant for recyclates or oil to be turned into EN590 diesel fuel has been lodged with little apparent consultation.
Speaking to the Advertiser Fine Gael councillor Ken Glynn said he was disgusted that such a facility was lodged some three months ago by RCI House without any consultation with residents in the area. “No one knew about it, the application was lodged during the Local Election when everyone’s attention was on June 5.”
“To say I’m not excited about it is an understatement. No one knew about it. There is a letter of opposition, and I am looking for a special meeting with the chair of the Mullingar Area Detty Cornally, the applicants RCI House, and Westmeath County Council,” he continued. Cllr Glynn along with Cllr Cornally and residents near Forest Park are concerned about the type of fumes that will be emitted with the burning of plastics as very little information is available on the plant.
“I don’t think it’s a suitable development for that area,” explained Cllr Glynn. “The applicants should have approched us to discuss this development,” he added.
However Fine Gael councillor and chair of Mullingar Town Council Detty Cornally feels that the proposed development is safe and shouldn’t pose a problem. “This is a new process for taking in plastics and oil to make diesel, it was developed in Germany and should emit very little emissions,” she said.
“I’m happy with the application as proposed as long as it’s run properly. The only problem I can see is that it runs 24 hours, so there might be a high volume of traffic coming into the area. To be honest anyone who smokes takes in more emissions than what will come from the plant,” she added.
Neither the applicants, RCI House nor the Westmeath county manager were available for comment at time of going to print. It is hoped a special meeting will be held on Monday September 21 to discuss the planning application. A decision on the application is due on Wednesday September 23.
