PLANS for whiskey maturation warehouses in the townland of Tullig have gone back to An Coimisiún Pleanála for reconsideration following a Judicial Review.

Residents of Tullig, located one kilometre from the village of Reenascreena, told The Southern Star of their disappointment that the appeals board did not oppose the West Cork Distillers application as part of a judicial review process.

Cork County Council originally granted West Cork Distillers permission to build six storage units on an 11-hectare site in January 2023.

But an appeal by locals and an environmental group, Friends of the Earth, resulted in ACP overturning the local authority’s decision.

ACP upheld concerns by locals that the development along what is known locally as ‘the old bog road’ was not suitable in a rural setting, and that the road network would not support the movement of heavy goods vehicles.

Residents had also argued that the development would have a negative impact on the wetlands at Tullig.

They cited the fact that the Argideen River rises in Tullig, a short distance from the boundary of the proposed development site, and flows east through Clonakilty to Timoleague before entering the sea at Courtmacsherry.

West Cork Distillers sought a judicial review of ACP’s decision and, on September 29th, the planning and environment division of the High Court formally granted an order of certiorari quashing ACP’s decision.

The company sought the judicial review on the basis that ACP had gone against the opinion of its own inspector, who had recommended granting permission for the warehouses, claiming that the development was supported by an agri-food projects policy in the National Planning Framework 2040.

The inspector also held that the development would not give rise to a detrimental impact on the landscape; would not injure residential amenities; would not cause unacceptable traffic hazards; and would not seriously impact ecological habitats or species.

Now, locals are of the understanding that the issue has to be referred back to ACP for reconsideration. The Southern Star contacted ACP asking for clarification on its position, and the timeline for any such decision.

As an appellant in the case, the community group has seen documentation confirming that ACP decided not to oppose West Cork Distillers’ claim for certiorari, quashing the original decision, on the basis that ACP failed to provide adequate reasons for disagreeing with their inspector’s recommendations.

They also said a letter from the legal firm representing West Cork Distillers sought the remittal of its application back to ACP for reconsideration.

The Southern Star contacted West Cork Distillers for a comment before going to press.

Calvin Jones, who is a member of the Tullig and Reenascreena Community Group, said there are a number of possible outcomes.

The first is that ACP upholds its original decision, but gives adequate reason for disagreeing with their inspector’s recommendations.

The second is that ACP changes its mind and upholds Cork County Council’s original conditional planning permission for six warehouses; and the third is that they grant West Cork Distillers’ appeal for an increased number of warehouses

‘As a community group,’ he said, ‘we were devastated to learn that An Coimisiún Pleanála chose not to oppose West Cork Distillers motion through the High Court to quash their decision refusing permission for industrial scale whiskey maturation warehousing at the heart of our West Cork community.

‘Apparently An Coimisiún Pleanála chose not to oppose the motion mainly on the grounds that they failed to provide adequate reason for disagreeing with their inspector’s recommendations in the case.

‘It is our sincere hope that, on re-examining the appeal, An Coimisiún Pleanála will back its original and correct decision to refuse planning permission for this utterly inappropriate development, this time providing sufficient information to avoid further uncertainty,’ he concluded.