New date is fixed for decision on North Mayo data centre
The facility is proposed for Killala.
It will be the end of April before Mayo Co Council issues its decision on a proposal for a large data centre in Killala.
A decision had been due in January on the development at the former Asahi site on the outskirts of the north Mayo village in January, but the council then sought further information from the developer Mayo Data Hub Ltd.
The further information was provided last week and now a new decision date has been set for April 28 next.
The proposed development has been the focus of much discussion in recent months with internationally-acclaimed author Sally Rooney, from Castlebar, among those to have made written submission to the council in opposition to the facility.
Ms Rooney urged the local authority to refuse planning permission for what she described as a "wasteful, unnecessary and environmentally toxic proposal".
The Green Party in Mayo has voiced its support for the project with the party’s county chairperson Micheál Ó Conaill commenting that data centres were important to Ireland’s digital and economic future and it was "too simplistic just to dismiss them out of hand".
The area around the former Asahi site has been a hotspot for proposed developments in recent years. A decision is due on April 24 next for SSE Renewables application for planning for a Battery Energy Storage System facility and associated works while Mayo Renewable Limited was granted planning permission last February for a biomass power station that will run on wood biomass chips to produce 50MW of electricity.
