Green light for upgrade of Nenagh wastewater treatment plant
The green light for a €30 million plan to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant in Nenagh has been welcomed by local Labour Party councillor Louise Morgan Walsh, who said there was now an urgent need to speed up the delivery of new homes in the town that were prevented from going ahead due to inadequate sewage treatment infrastructure in the town.
Cllr Morgan Walsh has hailed the decision by Tipperary County Council to grant planning permission for what she termed “the long overdue project” by Uisce Éireann to improve capacity at the existing wastewater treatment plant on the Old Birr Road.
The Labour councillor is now calling on the council to urgently speed up on the delivery of new homes following the recent Government announcement to introduce a single stage approval process for all social housing projects under €200 million.
She said Uisce Éireann has been notified of the decision to grant planning permission subject to 10 conditions to upgrade the existing plant from its current design to cater for a population of 12,000 to a population of 22,000. According to planning documents, the proposed upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant is required to ensure compliance with the Urban Water Treatment Regulations 2001 (as amended) and to provide adequate capacity to meet the needs of population growth within the Nenagh area over a 30-year period.
Cllr Morgan Walsh said the proposed upgrades were also required to safeguard human health and to protect the environment.
She added: “Planning permission has been granted subject to 10 conditions, and I am satisfied that one of the conditions attached is to ensure that no construction traffic shall use the L1120 Bulfin Crescent and L1123 Sallygrove housing estate roads.
“Now that the design and planning process for this DBO (Design Build Operate) project is complete, Uisce Éireann must immediately proceed with the construction stage and remove the current restriction for new connections for new homes. I will be asking Deputy Alan Kelly TD to make representations to Uisce Éireann to secure guarantees that new connections will now be granted.”
SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECT
Cllr Morgan Walsh has also welcomed the Government’s decision to scrap the four-stage process for social housing project and the introduction of a single stage approval process for all social housing projects under €200 million. “Currently, social housing projects in Nenagh are delayed due to the four-stage process and we urgently need to deliver homes in places such as Millersbrook, Gortlandroe and William Street.
“This is good news for Nenagh and hopefully we will see the delivery of new homes very soon,” she concluded.