Galway Bay fm newsroom – Three people have been given the go-ahead to seek a judicial review over Apple’s plans to build an 850 million euro data centre in Athenry.
The High Court has granted an ex-parte judicial review case after the appellants objected to An Bord Pleanala’s grant of permission for the major project.
The council’s original grant of approval was appealed on a number of grounds including flooding fears and the impact on environmental and climate change.
However, An Bord Pleanála granted the application after deciding it wouldn’t have a significant effect on protected nature sites.
Three people applied to the High Court for a judicial review of An Bord Pleanala’s decision to grant permission – two of these are from the local area, and were appellants in the original An Bord Pleanala process.
The third person is understood to be from the east of the country and lodged a separate request for a Judicial Review.
The High Court has granted an ex-parte judicial review hearing in respect of each application.
The case relating to the two local applications is due for mention in the High Court on November 8th – it’s not yet known if a full judicial review into the matter will be granted.
Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon says if a full review takes place, it could delay the development by up to 18 months.