RIP Laura Buckley Noonan
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Edgeworthstown locals have hit out at the decision by council bosses to grant planning for a wind turbine
Local homeowners living in one of Longford's most densely populated towns have slammed as “utterly shocking” a local authority decision to grant planning for a near 150m high wind turbine.
Residents from the Lissanore area of Edgeworthstown took aim this week at Longford County Council's planning department to grant approval for the structure which, when built, will exceed the Dublin Spire.
Council chiefs gave the green light last Thursday to Dublin based firm Natural Forces Renewable Energy Ltd to erect the turbine subject to 16 conditions.
The decision was made despite several submissions and a petition containing the signatures of over 200 local residents.
“I am shocked, completely and utterly shocked,” said one incensed local homeowner.
“This thing is nearly 500ft high and people will be able to see it for a 20km radius when it is constructed.”
The local resident, who asked for her name not to be published, told of how the harsh realities facing one of Longford's fastest growing towns.
“We will get all the flicker and noise,” she said. “I am still reeling from the shock of it all.”
She explained how her family moved to the area seven years ago, hoping to set up home after relocating from England.
“We lived in a very built up area and we moved to Edgeworthstown as my daughter was going to school,” she said.
“We saw it (Edgeworthstown) as quiet, completely different from England and then boom, this happens and everything changes.”
Local Councillor Paul Ross said he was acutely aware of the unease being felt by locals in the wake of the news, but said the process was far from a done deal.
“Residents have contacted me with legitimate concerns in relation to the erection of a wind turbine in the area,” he said.
“It (development) is subject to the rigours of planning and historically we have seen in Longford wind turbine applications are very contentious and invoke strong feelings from local residents. Going by historical reference in Longford, these applications have all been successfully appealed to An Bord Pleanála.”
Residents now face a race against time to lodge an appeal with the aformentioned State planning authority.
Appeals to the independent planning body must be made within four weeks from when a decision is made at local authority level.
“That's what we are trying to do now, contact a planner to take on our case and submit an appeal because we have less than four weeks,” she added.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
