Midlands wind farm community engagement sessions to begin

The first of three community engagement sessions for the latest Bord na Móna wind farm in county Offaly is due to get underway in Ballycumber GAA Club next week.

Bord na Móna has already signalled its intention to seek planning permission for the construction of a wind farm across one of its landbanks on Bellair Bog, outside Ballycumber, close to the Offaly border with Westmeath, although draft plans for the project have yet to be published.

All three community engagement sessions – in Ballycumber, Ballinahown and Moate – will take place between 5pm and 8.30pm, with the first one due to get underway on Tuesday of next week, June 17, in Ballycumber GAA Club.

This will be followed by a community engagement session in Ballinahown Community Hall on Wednesday, June 18, while the third session as part of the intial phase of the project, will take place on Tuesday, June 24 in the Carmelite Centre, The Newtown in Moate.

A draft layout of the proposed wind farm project – to be called Bellair Wind Farm – is to be drawn up following the first round of community engagement and will be available for inspection at the second phase of community engagement in the coming months.

A statement issued on behalf of Bord na Móna described community engagement as “an essential part” of the Bellair project, and added that, if the wind farm is delivered across Bord n Mona lands on Bellair Bog, it will bring “a range of benefits for the local area” including a dedicated Community Benefit Fund.

Bord na Móna and SSE Renewables have already appointed a Community Engagement and Stakeholder Team for the proposed project on Bellair Bog, including a dedicated Community Liaison Officer, who they say will “continue to engage with members of the local community throughout the project.”