A FIANNA FÁIL Senator has called for a judicial review of the decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for a bypass of Slane village to be built in Co Meath.
Thomas Byrne, a former TD for Meath East, said that the decision to refuse permission to bypass the N2 at Slane was a “severe body blow to the people and village”.
In refusing planning permission for the major bypass today, the planning board said that the proposed road would be located close to the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage site and said that alternatives had not been adequately explored.
However, Byrne believes that An Bord Pleanála “chose to ignore certain sections of the Meath County Development plan which calls for a bypass of Slane while using other aspects of the Plan in relation to Brú na Bóinne to refuse the application.”
“An Bord Pleanála, in my view, also seems to have adopted for itself the role of the NRA and the Minister for Transport in determining roads policy,” he added.
He called for immediate action by the National Roads Authority and Meath County Council saying that both bodies needed to establish the feasibility of a judicial review into the process.
Byrne said that party colleague Wayne Harding, a local councillor, had written to the chair of the county council to request an urgent meeting to gain approval for the judicial review request.
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