CAMPAIGN

The Hill of Allen Action Group is a voluntary heritage group concerned with protecting the Hill of Allen, which is profoundly threatened by quarrying by Roadstone Dublin Ltd.

Formed in March 2007, the aims of the group are:

• To preserve the remainder of the Hill from further destruction;
  
  
• To raise public awareness of the cultural, historical, archaeological and heritage value of the hill;
  
  
• To bring pressure to bear on Kildare County Council to ensure that they rigorously enforces all relevant legislation thoroughly, properly and completely in relation to Roadstone's quarrying of the hill, namely section 261 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000.
  
  
• To elicit from Roadstone a detailed, proper and public restoration plan, as they are required to produce under section 261, and in accordance with the best practice guidelines of the Irish Concrete Federation, of which they are a member;
  
  
• To get access to the Hill opened to the public (the only current entrance is blocked by boulders and no more than one car can park there at any time);
  
  
• To have an open, independent archaeological survey carried out on the Hill, to establish the rumoured existence of cist graves, burial tombs, tumulus and raths.

What's the Point?

Roadstone may own most of the Hill of Allen and Kildare County Council may be the authority entrusted with regulating its use, but the stories, myths and legends belong to us all. This generation is entrusted with passing on its heritage to the next. If Roadstone are permitted to raze the Hill of Allen, then not only have we failed to protect our heritage, we have failed in our responsibility to future generations.

What Can I Do?

Lots. Do something. If the sight of what Roadstone has done to the Hill makes you sick, fills you with anger or even with shame, do something.
Join our campaign.
Sign up to our email list for updates.
Press your local councillors and keep pressing them until you get some answers about what the Council is doing.
Ask your local TDs where they stand on this issue and what they will do to protect the Hill.
Support our fundraising gigs. The Hill of Allen Action Group is a small group and we are up against a huge, powerful multinational. We need your support.
Get a car sticker and spread the word!
Tell your children the stories, make sure they're kept alive and passed onto the next generation.
Write letters to the editors of newspapers, both local and national.
Go up the Hill, take your friends, take your family and share this wonderful natural resource with everyone you know. Once you've walked up the path through the forest and taken in the breathtaking view from the summit, you'll know why it's worth preserving.
Don't do nothing - and don't say there's nothing to be done. As long as someone, somewhere is committed to the Hill, there is something to be done. But do something.

The New Legislation

The Planning and Development Act 2000 was the first to contain a section pertaining to the development of quarries. Its section 261, enacted in 2004, says that all quarries must register with their local planning authority (county council). The registration file for the Allen quarry is available to the public from the planning department of Kildare County Council. It is file number QY28, and it's a very interesting read. One of the things that most fascinated us was the letter that sparked a judicial review.

The Letter

Roadstone registered the quarry with Kildare County Council in 2005. After requesting and receiving additional information from Roadstone, in March 2006 Kildare County Council wrote a letter to Roadstone informing them they had to seek planning permission and submit an Environmental Impact Statement for the quarry for three reasons: because it was established before 1964 and so had never gotten planning permission, because of its size (more than 5 hectares), and because of concerns about the environmental impact of its works.
Now when ordinary citizens or even regular companies are told they have to apply for planning permission, they apply! Like death and taxes, planning cannot be sidestepped by anyone, and they get in whole lot of trouble if they try.
Roadstone? They sought a judicial review.

The Judicial Review

What do tribunals and judicial reviews have in common? They go on forever, they go nowhere very slowly, are endlessly adjourned and make lawyers very rich. The Judicial Review has been ongoing since Roadstone received The Letter in March 2006. Now, what the Judicial Review was actually about, we cannot specifically say -- because, despite our best efforts to find out, we were unable to get access to the full planning file. The Council's Planning Department refused to make public all its correspondence with Roadstone. To get it, as a last resort we got our own legal team and applied to join the Judicial Review as a Notice Party. Colm Mac Eochaidh, the foremost planning barrister in the country, represented us. Roadstone and Kildare County Council were not happy. They tried to stop us joining. Our intention was to access the papers, find out what the judicial review was all about, and publicise it as far as we could.
But no. Rather than let us see the papers, the judicial review, after endless delays and adjournments and so on, was wrapped up - on the day we were due to join! Agreement had been reached! Now isn't that a coincidence?

The Agreement

The judicial review is over. Agreement has been reached between the Council and Roadstone, but the details are still to be worked out. Does Roadstone have to apply for planning permission? Are Kildare County Council going to rigorously enforce the legislation they are duty-bound - and legally bound -- to enforce; the law that applies to all, citizen and corporation alike?

A spokesperson for the County Council has explained that an agreement has been reached to regulate the quarry under section 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. So we read that. More interesting reading. (Whoever would have thought that planning could be so fascinating? But it is!)
Section 47 simply says that a planning authority can make an agreement to regulate use of land. The government discourages the use of this section, and it seems that it is only ever used to restrict rural housing, usually to limit land in Gaeltacht areas to Irish speakers. Now the last time we looked, Kildare was inside the Pale. But the Council thinks it's appropriate to use this controversial law to negotiate whatever kind of agreement they want.

Oh good. Someone's in charge of things at last. Kildare County Council will want to preserve such a famous landmark, surely? And will they now force Roadstone to apply for planning permission, like they are supposed to?
"Further information will be forthcoming," intoned the Council spokesperson. And we'll let you know what it is, as soon as we have it . . . .

A final question for the council: if everything is above board, proper and legal, if everything is being done as it should be, why won't the Council let the people know what's going on