Westmeath Co Council has stalled plans for a €1bn data centre campus and solar farm on a 600 acre site in County Westmeath.
In July, Red Admiral DC Ltd, which is owned by Offaly businessman, Nigel Reams and forms part of his Lumcloon Energy Group, lodged plans to the Council for a six unit data centre and a decentralised energy resource on townlands across Rochfortbridge, Co Westmeath.
The company is seeking planning permission for a 10 year period and the scheme also includes a solar farm across 166 hectares (410 acres) of the overall site and is to lie east to the data centre campus.
The scheme has encountered local opposition with 60 submissions lodged and now putting the plan on hold, the Council has expressed concerns over aspects of the scheme and has requested a raft of further information across 12 pages.
The planners state that there are concerns regarding the calculation and presentation of the carbon footprint across all stages of the development - construction, operation, and decommissioning.
As a result, the council has requested a tabulated summary of all carbon emissions across construction, operation, and decommissioning phases for the full scope of the development.
The council states that this is required "to fully assess the climatic impact of the proposal".
The Council has stated that the siting, orientation, and overall layout of the proposed data centre buildings would create a visually dominant, industrial-scale frontage along the R344.
The planners state that this would result "in a significant adverse impact on the visual character of the surrounding rural landscape".
The Council state that the six buildings are presented as repetitive, industrial-scale structures more typical of a heavy industrial estate, with little or no evident response to the visual sensitivity of the rural setting".
Requesting revised plans, the Council state that the development would benefit from significantly improved architectural quality and stronger design integration to better reflect and respect the surrounding rural landscape context.
The Council also state that there is potential for the proposed data centre to adversely impact on the residential amenity of the two adjoining dwellings.
Local resident, Catherine Walsh has told the Council that the scheme will result in the devaluation of property in Rochfortbridge/Tyrrellspass area.
Ms Walsh of Farthingstown, Rochfortbridge says that the project "will leave this area very unattractive for anyone to live in. It will leave property unsaleable. The houses on its outskirts, between 50 and 100, will be massively devalued."
Joe and Sandra Denehan of Farthingstown, Rochfortbridge raise concerns over the loss of high quality agricultural land.
They state that "the development proposes to remove approximately 300 acres of productive tillage farmland from agricultural use. This land is among the most fertile in the country and contributes to local employment and food security".
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
