An Bord Pleanála decision on waste water pipe into River Boyne delayed

An Bord Pleanála’s decision on an appeal to overturn Meath County's granting of planning permission to construct an industrial pipeline to discharge waste water from a meat plant into the River Boyne has been delayed.

This morning a spokesperson confirmed that the board has not decided the case and it is "not likely to arrive at a decision in the next few weeks."

The decision had been due today.

They went on to say that "the Board is dealing with a heavy workload at present and some cases are delayed."

Dawn Meats last year applied for planning permission for an extension to its waste water treatment plant and these plans included the construction of a 7.2km pipeline that would carry waste water from its meat plant at Beauparc, across the parish and pump it into the River Boyne at Cotton Mills.

The plans drew huge opposition locally over the impact the pumping of huge volumes of commercial treated wastewater would have on the integrity of the river and over 400 submissions were made on the plans. The 'Save the Boyne' Facebook page, set up as a platform for individuals and groups opposed to the plans, has more than 9,000 members.

It comes as former James Bond star and Navan man Pierce Brosnan made a passionate plea for the River Boyne "where he grew up" be protected.

The movie star reached out to Meath County Council in a video uploaded to Save the Boyne Facebook page this morning pleading for the decision to be overturned saying:

"Waste from the Dawn Meats abattoir should not be discharged into the River Boyne. I appeal to the Meath County Council to protect the River Boyne and their community."

In a statement earlier this year Dawn Meats said following the granting of permission, that the development would have a "positive impact through the removal of tanker traffic from local roads", and that "third-party studies, including a Natura Impact Statement, have assessed no negative impact on the river Boyne or surrounding habitats".