An Bord Pleanala has upheld a decision by Louth County Council to refuse Castle Oils retention permission for their fuel depot at Castleroche, Dundalk.
The decision puts the future of the company into question after it was served with an enforcement notice by the local authority in early 2012 after the council deemed the land unfit for use as a fuel depot.
Michael Quigley of Castle Oils argued in his appeal that the site had a pre-1964 commercial industrial use. It was argued that there was a long established use of the subject site as a fuel depot from as far back as 1958.
Louth County Council had objected to the initial application last December because zoning for that area was agricultural whereas the business was commercial. Furthermore, they found that the land being use for Castle Oils was only permitted for agriculture use and because no permission had originally been given for the company “this proposal does not constitute an extension to an authorized use.”
They also had concerns over visibility standards at the entrance when exiting onto the public road while they weren’t satisfied that the development provided sufficient measures to adequately protect surface and ground waters from fuel spillages. This was a major issue due to the site being c.400 metres from a tributary to the Castletown River, which is a valuable salmon fishery.
Talk of the Town 