Last Friday, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys delivered a judgment which wind farm developer Coolglass will no doubt be celebrating as an unqualified success.

Coolglass is a subsidiary of Statkraft, the Norwegian headquartered, global energy producing giant.

An Bord Pleanála had refused planning for the 13 wind turbines in Laois because the development would contravene the county development plan.

A judicial review followed against An Bord Pleanála. Last Friday’s outcome shows the superiority of legally enshrined climate goals over the planning objectives of local authorities.

It’s a very real reminder to everyone that legally binding climate targets are not going away, no matter who is in Government.

Obligations

In this case, the developer argued that An Bord Pleanála failed to comply with its obligations under climate legislation, and that the decision to refuse was invalid because by adopting “a policy of refusing to exercise its discretion to grant permission in material contravention of the development plan”, the board failed to properly carry out its role.

This judgment has effectively quashed An Bord Pleanála’s decision not to grant planning permission to Coolglass, and the judge ultimately sent it back to the board “to reconsider the application in accordance with this judgment”.