High Court dismisses judicial review challenge against 579ft-high wind farm in Clare
THE HIGH COURT has dismissed objectors' judicial review challenge against the green light for a 579ft-high eight-turbine wind farm for lands in south-east Clare.
More than 300 people from the area lodged objections against the Fahy Beg wind farm proposal and Clare County Council refused planning permission to RWE Renewables Ireland Ltd for the 38.4 MW wind-farm on lands 1.5km from Bridgetown, and 3.5km from O'Briensbridge in south-east Clare in May 2023.
As part of the proposal, the wind-farm developers are to establish a Community Benefit Fund which will distribute up to €3.12m over the first 15 years of the wind farm.
Documents lodged with the application state that the provision of the Community Benefit Fund 'will have a significant long-term, positive effect on the socio-economic profile of the study area and wider area'.
The Council refused across five grounds including that the planned wind farm would depreciate the price of property as it would be visually over-bearing on those properties.
However, RWE Renewables Ireland appealed and An Bord Pleanala overturned the Council refusal to grant planning permission in March 2024.
In response, the Fahybeg Windfarm Opposition Group and Sean Conway launched High Court judicial review proceedings seeking to have the appeals board decision quashed for the wind farm which is to be located on a site 14km north of Limerick city.
Advertisement
However, Justice Richard Humphreys – who presides over the Planning and Environment Division of the High Court – has dismissed all grounds of the judicial review challenge.
The applicants claimed that the decision should be quashed as the planned wind farm would materially contravene the Development Plan due to the loss of part of Ballymoloney Woods.
Justice Humphreys stated that on the basis of the applicants' analysis, the felling of any tree necessarily constitutes a material contravention of the Development Plan.
Justice Humphreys stated that this approach represented an 'excessively literalist and absolutist interpretation' of development plan objectives.
Justice Humphreys stated that the application failed to engage with the specifics of the individual trees which are actually being felled, pointing 0.4 of a hectare or, or 0.2% of the total amount of long established woodland is being removed.
He said: 'There is no absolute prohibition on the removal of trees, contrary to the applicants' complaints, and a reasonably informed reader would not read such a preclusion into the Development Plan when same is read objectively and holistically.'
Justice Humphreys also dismissed the objectors' claim that planning permission should be quashed due to the impact that the wind farm would have on property prices in the area.
He said that there is no substantive evidence presented that would conclusively indicate a depreciation in property values directly attributable to the wind farm's presence at this particular location.
Justice Humphreys made no order in relation to costs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- RTÉ News
AerCap can recover over $1 billion, UK court rules in case over jets 'lost' in Russia
The world's largest aircraft lessor AerCap can recover over $1 billion in relation to jets stuck in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, London's High Court ruled today, though that is less than the roughly $2 billion it sought. The court ruled broadly in favour of leasing companies in a multi-billion-dollar legal dispute with insurers, following a mammoth trial of one of the biggest insurance disputes ever heard in London which concluded in February. The lawsuit had focused on almost 150 jets and some engines, previously with a total value of up to $4.7 billion, though settlements - including on the first day of the trial in October - have whittled the numbers down. Judge Christopher Butcher said in a summary of his ruling that the aircraft were lost and "that loss occurred on 10 March 2022, when a piece of Russian legislation banned the export of aircraft and aircraft equipment from Russia". That meant the lessors could recover from their "war risks insurers", rather than under a broader all risks clause, as the cause of the loss was "an act or order of the Russian government", Butcher said. The judge also ruled that insurers were not prevented by EU or US sanctions from indemnifying the claimants for the loss of aircraft which had been leased to Russian airlines. AerCap's law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer said the judgment secured $1.035 billion for AerCap, "in addition to substantial recoveries achieved in prior settlements". The $1.035 billion sum is, however, less than AerCap's claimed losses of over $2 billion had it been able to recover under its all risks policy. Butcher said in his ruling that Dublin-based AerCap had received just over $1.3 billion from six settlements between August and December 2023 with lessees and a Russian insurance company. AerCap, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), Merx Aviation, KDAC Aviation Finance, Falcon and Genesis had led the claims against a string of insurers, including AIG, Lloyd's, Chubb and Swiss Re. KDAC settled all its claims during the trial, Butcher said in his ruling, while AerCap, DAE and other lessors have periodically disclosed partial settlements.
Irish Independent
13 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Dublin-based aircraft lessor AerCap secures $1bn in UK judgment
Lessor sued insurers after Russia seized jets following Ukraine invasion Dublin-headquartered aircraft lessor AerCap has secured an award of more than $1bn (€874m) in London's High Court, after suing insurers when its jets were seized in Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine. The $1.03bn award for AerCap, whose chief executive is Gus Kelly, is on top of previous recoveries it has secured in past settlements related to jets and engines stranded in Russia. AerCap, the world's largest aircraft lessor, had 116 jets and 23 engines seized in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The Irish company had initiated legal action in London against a slew of insurance and reinsurance firms including Lloyds, Liberty Mutual, Chubb, Fidelis and Swiss Re. In 2023, it secured $572m in a full settlement of claims under insurance policies of Russian carriers Ural Airlines and S7 in respect of a total of 47 aircraft and five spare engines. These were owned by AerCap entities and were leased to the airlines at the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The action just concluded in the High Court in London followed a 12-week trial that included five other aircraft lessors, with AerCap acting as the lead claimant. AerCap was represented by international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in the action. The other claimants included Dubai Aerospace, KKR's KDAC Aviation, Merx Aviation and a leasing unit ultimately owned by US-based MassMutual. During the course of the trial KDAC settled with its insurers, and its action was dismissed. There was a dispute between all-risk insurers and war-risk insurers The insurers had previously unsuccessfully challenged the jurisdiction of the UK court to hear the action, arguing it should be staged in Moscow. The judgment released on Wednesday relates to a total of 147 aircraft, 16 standalone engines and one other piece of equipment. The insured value of these amounted to over $4.5bn. A key issue concerned whether the lessors' aircraft had been lost to the claimants, and if so when and what caused such a loss. In particular, there was a dispute between all-risk insurers and war-risk insurers as to whether the cause of any loss of the aircraft was a commercial decision of the Russian airlines leasing the aircraft. In that case the all-risk insurers would be liable to the claimants, or an act or order of the Russian government, in which case the war-risks insurers would be so liable. Mr Justice Butcher found in favour of AerCap and the other lessors, ruling that their war-risk insurance policies were triggered following the seizure of their aircraft. He concluded that the aircraft had been lost, and that the loss occurred on March 19, 2022, when a piece of Russian legislation banned the export of aircraft and aircraft equipment from their country. There was also an issue as to whether EU or US sanctions prevented the insurers from indemnifying the claimants for the loss of aircraft which had been leased to Russian airlines. The judgment concluded that insurers were not so prevented by sanctions.
Irish Examiner
17 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish aircraft leasing firm AerCap wins court insurance dispute over jets taken by Russia
London's High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of Irish company AerCap, the world's biggest aircraft leasing firm, and several other aircraft lessors in a multi-billion-euro legal dispute over jets retained in Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. AerCap and several other firms had sued insurers including AIG, Lloyd's, Chubb, and Swiss Re in one of the biggest insurance disputes ever heard in London. The London lawsuit had focused on almost 150 jets and some engines, previously with a total value of up to $4.7bn (€4.1bn), though settlements – including on the first day of trial in October and subsequently – have whittled the numbers down. Judge Christopher Butcher said in a summary of his ruling that the aircraft were lost and "that loss occurred on 10 March 2022, when a piece of Russian legislation banned the export of aircraft and aircraft equipment from Russia". The judge added that insurers were not prevented by EU or US sanctions from indemnifying the claimants for the loss of aircraft which had been leased to Russian airlines. Last week, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot said it expects to sign settlement deals with Western insurers and leasing firms on the last 36 planes from a total of 228 aircraft it agreed to buy, Aeroflot head Sergei Aleksandrovski told Russian newspaper Kommersant. "Only 36 aircraft remain, which are currently in the active phase of insurance settlement. Essentially, these are the last planes (needed to be settled) owned by fully fledged foreign lessors," Mr Aleksandrovski said. Aeroflot expects that the agreements on the 36 planes could be finalised by July. Reuters
