Cork County Council grants permission for solar farm at Castlemagner, Co. Cork

In context

It is one of 52 solar farm applications Cork County Council has received in the past twelve months, against 337 nationally. Of the 573 such applications decided by councils in the past three years, 92% were granted.

What happens next

The applicant, or anyone who made a submission on the application, can appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála within four weeks of 2 December 2025. If no appeal is lodged, the council’s decision stands and a final grant issues.

The development description, as lodged

Verbatim from the Cork County Council register. This is the source for every figure in the story above.

Permission for development which consists of the construction of a new Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP) to replace the existing public and private WwTP’s currently servicing the agglomeration. The development will consist of the following: 1) Inlet works, including: 2 no. gravity inlets from the existing public WwTP & the private WwTP, full flow to treatment pumping station, inlets screen. 2) Primary treatment, including: 2 no. primary settlement tanks, 2 no. rotating biological contactors. 3) Secondary treatment, including; 2 no. Humus Tanks. 4) Discharge works, including; final effluent collection chamber, final discharge manhole, final effluent gravity pipeline and headwall along the Lisduggan North Stream. 5) Sludge treatment works, including; primary sludge pumping station, 1 no. sludge holding tank, 3 no. sludge drying reed beds, mixed liquor returns pumping station. 6) 1 no. stormwater storage tank and pumping station. 7) Construction of a new solar farm to provide a source of renewable energy to partly supply the WwTP. 8) 1 no. control and administration building. 9) Ancillary site works, including: upgrade of the existing entrance and access road from the L1042 roadway and construction of paved site roadways including associated parking. Installation of instrumentation, monitoring equipment and controls in accordance with Uisce Éireann’s technical standards. General groundworks, fencing, landscaping, ducting, pipework, manholes/chambers and drainage works including for filter drains, surface water pipeline and a swale. A Natura Impact Statement (NIS) will be submitted to the Planning Authority with the application.