Planning application received: Planning Permission for the erection and installation of (i) a new single storey detached flat roofed biomass boiler uni

Loreto Secondary School in St. Michaels, Navan has lodged a planning application with Meath County Council to erect a new single‑storey biomass boiler unit. The proposed structure will be flat‑roofed and detached from the school buildings, featuring an attached fuel store and flue as part of a renewable energy upgrade that complies with the Renewable Energy Directive III (REDIII). The building’s gross floor area is 51.77 m².

The application also covers all associated site works, services and landscaping required to support the boiler unit. It is situated within the curtilage of several protected structures – Saint Michael’s Loreto Convent Church and Chapel, the school itself, the convent house and the adjoining graveyard and cemetery – but the proposed development will not be in contact with any of these buildings or sites. Council planners have noted that this positioning should minimise visual impact on the historic environment.

The planning application was formally received by Meath County Council on 2 June 2026. A decision is expected by 27 July 2026, at which point the council will determine whether to grant permission for the construction of the biomass boiler unit and its ancillary works.

This submission follows earlier applications from Loreto Secondary School that were declared invalid in May 2026. On 8 May a similar proposal for a biomass boiler unit with fuel store and flue was rejected because public notices failed to disclose that the development would take place within the curtilage of protected structures. A separate gas‑boiler cabin application, submitted on 11 May, was also invalidated for the same reason.

The school’s renewable energy plans are part of a broader effort to reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency across educational facilities in County Meath. The council will now review the latest submission before making its decision.

For full details see the original planning file at localnews.ie/planning/meath/2660663.

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