Quinn glass firm faces order to demolish unauthorised works

AN ENGLISH local authority will this week order part of the Irish-based Quinn Group to stop production and knock unauthorised buildings at a glass manufacturing plant in Chester.

Cheshire West and Chester Council confirmed to The Irish Timesyesterday that it has issued an enforcement notice to Quinn Glass, which operates Europe's biggest glass manufacturing and bottling plant at Elton, near Chester.

The move follows an action taken in the English High Court by its Irish-owned rival, Ardagh Glass UK, which argued that Quinn Glass did not have full planning permission for the Elton facility.

“The notice complies with the order of the high court requiring the removal of unauthorised buildings on the site of the former power station at Elton, near Chester,” the council said.

“It also requires the cessation of production activities and clearance of the site.”

The council expects the notice to be delivered to the Quinn Glass head office at Derrylinn, Co Fermanagh, in the next few days.

The deadlines and other requirements laid down in the order will be made public at that point, the council added yesterday.

Cheshire West and Chester Council leader Mike Jones said yesterday that the authority had received a planning application from the company seeking to “regularise the existing development” at Elton.

He added that the council had sought more information from Quinn Glass.

“Until this has been received, we are unable to say whether this matter will go to the committee,” Mr Jones said.

However, an Ardagh Glass UK spokesman said the company was surprised that the council leader indicated that the authority intends to “determine a planning application for retention of the unlawful structure”.

He said that only the British communities secretary, Hazel Blears, can grant retrospective planning permission.

The spokesman pointed out that the secretary’s office wrote to planners last year last year banning them from granting permission for the plant without her special authorisation.

The company said that, according to the high court judgement, a European directive means that retrospective planning permission can only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

Ardagh argued yesterday that there are no exceptional circumstances in this case.

The company also pointed out that the communities secretary has to consult the European Commission before granting planning permission retrospectively.

In his ruling, English high court judge David Mole said that the secretary has to consider whether granting planning permission would give the developer and advantage he ought to be denied, and whether the public should be allowed to make their views about the issue known.

Quinn Glass did have permission for a smaller plant than the existing one at the Elton site.

A spokesman said that the company had not seen the order yesterday, so it was not prepared to comment on it.

It is likely that Quinn Glass will appeal the order to Ms Blears.