Diageo’s plans for new Kildare brewery stalled amid planning appeal
A decision will be made by An Bord Pleanála in August at the earliest
A sole objector has stalled Guinness-owner Diageo’s plans for a new €200 million brewery on a site in Newbridge, Co. Kildare.
Last year, Diageo said production of its ale and beer brands, such as Hop House 13, Harp, Smithwick’s and Kilkenny, would be moved to the new Kildare site from St. James’s Gate in Dublin.
However, an appeal lodged with An Bord Pleanála against Kildare County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the project has seen construction of the site suspended.
In the appeal, John Lynch, a resident of Athy, said he agrees to the construction of the brewery but opposes the location for environmental reasons.
The new brewery would provide a major jobs boost to the Kildare area. When fully operational, it will be the second largest brewing operation in Ireland after Diageo’s operation at St. James’s Gate and support the future growth of Diageo Ireland’s beer brands.
Lynch stated that the proposal for Littleconnell should be rejected and asked that Diageo instead “seriously consider Athy as the most environmentally friendly and profitable location for a brewery of this size”.
He claimed that by basing the brewery in Athy, which has a long history of malting barley supplying, Diageo would save 833 lorry loads of malt to be transported from Athy to Littleconnell per year for the next 263 years to come, thereby creating millions of tonnes of carbon emissions un-necessarily over the lifetime of this proposed brewery.
Construction at the site has been suspended until An Bord Pleanála makes its decision on the matter in August at the earliest.
