Plea made to golf club in north Louth to withdraw planning appeal

The company behind plans to develop Operations and Maintenance (O&M) facilities at Greenore Port in north Louth for future offshore windfarm projects in the Irish Sea, that would generate up to 135 direct jobs in operation, has made an appeal to Greenore Golf Club to consider withdrawing the appeal it made to An Bord Pleanála against Louth County Council's decision to grant the development planning permission.

Louth County Council granted planning permission to Greenore Port Unlimited Company in December 2024 for the proposed O&M facility, on a site of c.4.88 hectares at Greenore Port, that would serve as the support base for future offshore wind arrays in the Irish Sea. 

A third party appeal against Louth County Council's decision to grant planning permission, was made by Brendan Tumilty, Chairman of Greenore Golf Club on 22 January, on five grounds. They are: potential conflict with policy on port expansion; project splitting and functional dependence; prematurity and 10 year permission; landscape and visual impact, bulk, scale and massing; and flooding. 

A spokesperson for Greenore Port Unlimited Company told the Dundalk Democrat that it acknowledges the golf club's right to appeal but is asking the club to consider withdrawing its appeal and allowing this project to proceed as planned. The spokesperson said that: "This is a €25m to €30m investment that will have wide ranging economic and social benefits for the Cooley Peninsula which we see as a once in a lifetime opportunity for a development like this.

"This project benefits everyone young and old. The project will create 135 direct jobs (200 in summer peak) at Greenore Port along with a significant community benefit fund which we have explained in more detailed in the document."

In response to the appeal, Greenore Port Unlimited Company has set up a website, www.greenoreOMF.ie which it says addresses the concerns raised by the golf club. It said that the appeal will add significant delays and jeopardises the overall development proceeding.

Explaining some of the background to the company's work in Greenore, it said that Doyle Shipping Group & Greenore Port have invested over €25m in the development and upgrading of Greenore Port since its purchase in 2014. It said that it has "a vigorous investment programme for the Port with planning permission in hand to build a 80,000sqft bulk warehouse at the southern end of the Port, either side of the existing OpenHydro store near the clubhouse."

It went on to say that "recent opportunities in offshore renewable energy (ORE) have presented themselves and we are keen to take advantage of this relatively short window of opportunity to attract this ORE business to Greenore. This ORE proposal, should it proceed, will replace existing proposals for the new large 80,000sqft bulk warehouse mentioned above."

The company goes on to explain on its website, some further details on the proposed development. It said that, "offshore windfarms require an administration base, control centre, storage and safe all-weather crew access from land to the turbines. The proposed facilities at Greenore Port aim to provide this for up to three operators in three separate buildings with communal marine infrastructure.

"In general, it will comprise of landside and marine side works, with three standalone operations and maintenance buildings incorporating office, warehouse and ancillary space landside and a pontoon to accommodate Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) marine side. To facilitate the proposed development, dredging within the nearshore and the demolition of existing port bulk store warehouse building and a vacant residential property is required."

The company goes on to say that the proposed buildings in the development "are significantly smaller in scale and massing than the existing Open Hydro building and the permitted bulkstore warehouse. The smaller scale of each building reduces the visual impact from the Golf Course" and that "the quality of the architecture of the proposed buildings is at a higher level than the existing Open Hydro building with buildings that are more visually appealing."

It adds that "through the design development and discussions with Greenore Golf Club we have sought to minimise any loss of view to the Golf Club", further adding that "the positioning of the proposed buildings creates a setback zone from the Golf Course boundaries which reduces the visual impact of the proposed buildings."

To allay fears of flooding the company says its consultants have "analysed the risk of flooding by means of a Site-Specific Flood Risk Assessment in accordance with recommended guidelines and best practice. It has determined that there will be no flooding impact on the Golf Club owing to this development".

In terms of the benefit the development would have on the local community, the company said that the development will attract "highly sought after multinational companies to the area. Companies such as ESB, Statkraft, ParkWind & SSE are the potential companies that will sign long-term leases of up to 35 years with the Government to supply ORE".

"In turn, these companies will have similar long-term leases to operate at Greenore. These companies are well regarded in their industry for the Corporate and Social Responsibility activities and are routinely recognised for their contribution to the local areas."

It goes on to add that "additionally, as part of their licence developers are legally obligated to contribute financially to the local community by way of a Community Benefit Fund. The North Irish Sea Array (NISA), which we hope will take tenancy of one of the buildings, is estimated to contribute up to €4 million per annum for 20 years via their Community Benefit Fund.

"The fund is designated to improve local community’s economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being. We believe the golf club and indeed local clubs in Cooley are in a prime position to benefit from these community gain funds. Similar funds elsewhere have funded Golf Clubs, GAA Clubs, Educational Scholarships, Energy Upgrades, Community Groups etc."

Greenore Golf Club is set to hold its AGM next Monday 10 March, where the appeal is expected to be discussed. The appeal, as it stands, is to be decided by An Bord Pleanála by 27 May 2025.