High Court clears the way for legal challenge over planned motorway service station in Clare

THE High Court has given the go ahead for a challenge against An Bord Pleanala's decision to grant businessman and Supermac's boss Pat McDonagh permission to construct a motorway service station near Ennis in County Clare to proceed.

In a written judgement, Mr Justice Richard Humphrey's said he was prepared to grant County-Clare based Engineer Michael Duffy permission to seek to overturn the 2022 decision to grant permission for the development of the service station and rest area, close to junction 12, just off the M18 motorway at Kilbreckan, Doora, Ennis.

Clare County Council had given the proposed multi-million development the green light in 2020 but that decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanala which, in October 2022, upheld the decision to grant permission. 

The judge said the court was only prepared to grant "partial leave" and said the grounds of his challenge would have to be amended and served in the next few weeks.

Mr Duffy, from Kilfenora, has brought the challenge on grounds that the proposed development will have an adverse effect on the local environment.

As part of his action Mr Duffy claims there is no evidence that the board carried out an Appropriate Assessment, as they are required under EU law to do, to remove all reasonable scientific doubt that the proposed development will not adversely impact on any nearby environmentally protected sites.

He further submits that in particular the board did not conduct any Approriate Assessments to determine that wastewater from the proposed development would not impact on any designated Special Areas of Conservation. 

Leave was not being granted on several other grounds raised by Mr Duffy in his 2022 proceedings, the judge held.

The court also ruled that Clare County Council should not be a respondent, but should be a notice party, to Mr Duffy's action.

Mr McDonagh, who had argued that the challenge should not be allowed to proceed before the courts, is also a notice party to the action.

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In his ruling, the judge also dismissed an earlier set of judicial review proceedings, brought in 2021 by Mr Duffy, where he sought to challenge Clare County Council's decision to grant planning permission for the proposed development.  

The judge ruled that no case for leave against the Council had been made out by Mr Duffy in the actions. 

The appeal against the council's decision to grant permission had been effectively decided by the board, the judge held adding that the applicants claim against the local authority was "misconceived.".

The matter will return before the courts at a later date.