BREAKING: Fury over decision to appeal €17m Kildare project which would provide 400 jobs

The decision to appeal against a plan for a significant service station development which could lead to 400 jobs in Naas, has come under fire.

Service station network Applegreen was granted permission by Kildare County Council to build a service station and electric vehicle hub in a €17m development spanning 10,000 square metres. 

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Applegreen's parent company, Petrogas Group Limited, wants to demolish all buildings on the Cemex site near the Naas Ball as a first step.  

The industrial area has been derelict since building materials firm Cemex closed after over 50 years in the area with the loss of 50 jobs in 2007.

Being planned is a new electric vehicle charging hub for 36 vehicles along with eight electric bus/HGV charging spaces. 

The designs include the construction of eight buildings comprising a distribution centre, offices and 13 loading bays. 

Also planned is a service station with retail area, seating area, drive-thru hatch and toilets.

The entrance off Johnstown Road will be replaced with a new slip lane, according to the plans.  

There will be car parking for 169 vehicles, cycle parking for 46 bicycles as well as 16 spaces for buses and HGVs. 

The designs include internal roads, footpaths and cycle lanes, outdoor exercise areas, outdoor eating/picnic areas, a covered smoking area, roof-mounted solar panels and a new internal roundabout junction.

However this has been appealed by An Taisce to An Bord Pleanála.

Founded in 1948, An Taisce is one of Ireland’s oldest and largest environmental organisations. An Taisce is an independent charity that works to preserve and protect Ireland's natural and built heritage.

Naas mayor Fintan Brett told a Naas Municipal District committee meeting that An Taisce is concerned with heritage and this is not an issue with their application. ”Where is the heritage interest here ?”, he asked.

He also said Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which oversees the motorways network had no issue with the project.

He also said there would be no problems with access because it is sited a good distance from the motorway.

He also disputed that the area is in a green belt.

He said there are 400 jobs on the table at a time when the UK economy is in recession.

Cllr Brett described the decision to appeal as a “slap in the face to the councillors and Kildare County Council.”

And, he added, also to Naas Tidy Towns who spent many hours cleaning up the site.

“This is an overreach by An Taisce. It's not their responsibility,” he said, adding that An Taisce did not make submission to the county development plan, the local area plan or the masterplan which charted the likely future use of land in that area of Naas.

Independent councillor Bill Clear said he is a member of An Taisce and he was "disgusted". He noted the site has been derelict for a long time. He said people are living on the site and at the moment it is a “blight on the entrance to Naas.”

Cllr Seamie Moore said he was “gutted” given that the masterplan took two years to complete and Cllr Evie Sammon described the decision as “outrageous and ridiculous".

It is understood that An Taisce is also concerned about future modes of transport, most likely on the basis that a service station will promote car use, which is contrary to most climate action strategies.