Galway County Council has granted planning approval for another five years of to the lifespan of operations at an Athenry quarry.
Coshla Quarries Ltd sought an extension of duration to planning permission for their operations at Barrett’s Park, Athenry.
The quarry was first granted planning approval in March of 2011, a permission which expired in June of this year.
There are an estimated 1.2 million tonnes of material to be excavated from the quarry under the terms of the permission originally granted by the county council.
The five additional years sought for the site to operate are based on the expected removal of 250,000 tonnes a year.
An Appropriate Assessment Screening report was prepared at the council’s request for further information, in order to determine if a Natura Impact Statement or other environmental reports were needed.
“Given that the existing ten year permission covered the worst years of the construction industry recession, the reason the permitted development was not completed rests with the economic difficulties regionally where construction and house building ground to a halt.”
“This is the stand-alone basis for the time extension as requested for the existing development,” planning documents with the application stated.
The county council has now granted an unconditional extension of that approval to June of 2026.
