Pylon protestors injunction bid fails

The group protesting against the controversial North-South pylon project from Eirgrid went to the High Court on Monday in a failed attempt to injunct an oral hearing on the plan that began the same day (March 7).
The oral hearing, in the Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross, is expected to last for 12 weeks. It is continuing but a High Court hearing date challenging the validity of the planning application to An Bord Pleanála has been earmarked for March 18.
Eirgrid has applied directly to the planning appeals board under Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) legislation for the erection of 299 pylons across the three counties at an estimated cost of €286m.
The North East Pylon Pressure Campaign (NEPPC) Ltd, representing almost 200 landowners in Cavan, Meath and Monaghan, yesterday issued High Court proceedings against planning body An Bord Pleanála but failed to secure a judgement and the oral hearing continues.
The voluntary group were called at the oral hearing in the morning but their counsel requested an adjournment because members of the NEPPC were still in the High Court in Dublin. They were 'fined’ two hours of the five they were allotted of speaking time for the situation but issued a statement in the early hours of Tuesday morning on the matter. “The proceedings challenged the validity of the North-South 400kv Interconnector application submitted by EirGrid in June 2015,” said the NEPPC in the statement.
“The proceedings included seeking an injunction to restrain the holding of the planned oral hearing until the proceedings are resolved. While the High Court did not grant an interim order to stop the oral hearing yesterday, it did keep alive the proceedings, including the claim for injunctive relief and gave an early hearing date of March 18, 2016, to hear the matter.
“NEPPC notes that, on March 1 last, the Planning Appeals Commission in Northern Ireland, which is the equivalent competent authority as An Bord Pleanála (ABP), has recognised that matters of validity of the application exist and so have decided to have these dealt with before proceeding to any substantive inquiry into the merits of the application.”
Until the March 18 ruling, the oral hearings will continue and yesterday the NEPPC were outlining legal and statutory concerns over consultation with landowners.
An Bord Pleanála received over 900 submissions from individuals and groups about the application for the pylon project, which runs from Meath, through Cavan and Monaghan and on to Tyrone. Last October EirGrid, at the board’s request, submitted a report to it detailing its response to the issues raised in submissions.
Eirgrid said the High Court action was not a matter for them to comment on, while ABP were contacted for comment.