Ballinabrackey and Castlejordan function as small rural centres offering only the most basic amenities. For inspection purposes only.

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1 6.0 HUMAN BEINGS 6.1 RECEIVING ENVIRONMENT The proposed site is located at Killaskillen, Co. Meath, 3km southwest of Kinnegad. The village of Ballinabrackey is located approximately 1.5 km south of the site. The village of Castlejordan is a further 2kms southeast of Ballinabrackey Services Kinnegad is the largest service centre in the immediate area. Services in the town include public houses, restaurants and small retail outlets. The town is situated at the intersection of the N4 and N6, the two main western routes to and from Dublin. This generates a considerable amount of passing trade for the town but has also causes some traffic congestion. In recent years, with the completion of the new by pass road for the town, the volume of traffic is down considerably but this is not expected to have any major effect on trade within the town. Ballinabrackey and Castlejordan function as small rural centres offering only the most basic amenities Population Population characteristics for the surrounding area have been obtained from the Central Statistics Office 2006 Census of Population Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS) are the most current available statistics for the area (detailed results from Census 2006 have not yet been released). Statistics have been obtained from the four District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) surrounding the subject site. This area covers an approximate 12 km radius around the subject site. In 2006 there were 4,152 people living within this 12 km radius. The SAPS for the area from 2002 indicate that commerce related employment, manufacturing and building and construction were the main economic activities and source of employment in the area, involving approximately 55% of the total workforce. The percentage of people in the area working in agriculture decreased from 23% in 1996 to 8% in A survey of the lands immediately surrounding the subject site has shown it to be sparsely populated. There are c. 15 dwellings located within 500 m of the Cement Plant boundary. Apart from the dwellings mentioned above, there are no other sensitive neighbouring premises, such as hospitals, schools or holiday accommodation in the immediate vicinity of the proposed development. Furthermore, information from Meath and Westmeath Tourists Boards indicate that tourism in this area is very low key. In this respect, there is no evidence of transient populations that could be affected by the proposed development such as walkers, cyclists or tourists generally. Environmental Impact Statement. 6-1

2 6.1.3 Employment The existing cement works and quarry currently employ c. 140 people. The increased capacity of the kiln will have no affect on the numbers of workers employed at the facility. The concrete products production area will employ up to 75 additional people at the Lagan Cement Ltd site at Kinnegad. The impact of this increase is examined in this chapter. 6.2 POTENTIAL IMPACTS Cement Capacity Increase The likely perceived impacts on humans associated with the proposed increase in cement production primarily relate to the small increase in traffic entering and leaving the site Dust and Noise The increase in production at the site will not require any additional plant. The screening banks which are in place at site boundaries together with the extended distances between noise and dust sources and receptors are fundamental to the attenuation of noise and dust generated by site operations and therefore the minimisation of noise impacts that may be experienced at nearest noise sensitive receptors. The only potential for increased noise levels to occur as a result of the proposed increase in production is associated with the predicted increase in traffic movements at the site in particular, HGV movements associated with the export of product from the site and additional deliveries of raw materials to the site Due to the nature of the proposed development, the potential impact on air quality will be that of dust deposition as a result of increased raw material extraction rates. Dust will arise from the excavation and crushing activities at the quarry. The impacts of dust and noise have been dealt with elsewhere in this EIS and this assessment has shown that the proposed mitigation measures will ensure that no adverse air quality impacts will result from the increased rate of production and that the cumulative impact from the all site operations will not result in any adverse air quality impacts. Use of Alternative Materials There will be no significant impact on Human beings resulting from the use of alternative materials as raw materials and fuels. Environmental Impact Statement. 6-2

3 6.2.2 Traffic The Traffic and Transportation assessment provided at Section 15.0 of the EIS has concluded that the proposed increase in processing capacity at the existing cement quarry within the Lagan Cement Limited site will generate an estimated 28 additional heavy goods vehicle movements per day. The assessment has clearly established that volumes of traffic generated by the proposed increase in processing capacity at the quarry will not have a significant impact on the surrounding road network. All junctions along the proposed haulage route have ample capacity to cater for the development traffic through the lifetime of the operation and road geometry along the haulage route is also sufficient to allow for the two-way Heavy Goods Vehicular traffic. Due to the relatively new access road to the site, the effect of site traffic on any of the residential dwellings in the area will be minimal Landscape and Visual Impacts Landscape and visual impacts related to the increased cement capacity are discussed in chapter 13 of this EIS. From chapter 13 it can be said that there will be negligible impacts on Human Beings arising from the proposal to increase the cement capacity of the already existing plant. Concrete Products Production Area Employment The concrete products production area will result in the employment of 75 no. extra people at the Lagan Cement Ltd. site at Kinnegad. The breakdown of where those employees will be working is as follows: Dry Mortar Plant The employees associated with this development would include 2 shifts of 6 staff (06:00-15:00 and 15:00-00:00) and 1 production manager (08:00-17:00). Paver Factory The employees associated with this development would include 3 shifts of 8 staff (07:00-15:00, 15:00-23:00 and 23:00-07:00) and 1 production manager (08:00-17:00). Roof Tile Plant - The employees associated with this development would include 3 shifts of 8 staff (07:00-15:00, 15:00-23:00 and 23:00-07:00) and 1 production manager (08:00-17:00). Administration 1 Chief Accountant, 1 Assistant Accountant and 5 further staff. Despatch 2 employees. Sales: Paver Factory 2 internal staff and 3 mobile staff including sales manager. Roof Tile Plant sales force existing. Environmental Impact Statement. 6-3

4 Dry Mortar Plant 1 sales manager and 2 mobile sales staff 1 general manager The impact of the concrete products production area on employment in the local community will be positive. At the moment there are a significant number of people commuting to jobs some distance away from the immediate area surrounding the Cement works. These extra positions at the Lagan site will give an opportunity to the local population to work in their local area and avoid the burden of a long commute. A potential adverse impact would be the slight increase in traffic to and from the development but this has been dealt with in the Traffic section of this EIS. As indicated in Chapter 15, there will be no significant adverse impact on the local road network as a result of these employees coming to and leaving the site at Kinnegad Dust and Noise Traffic The impacts of dust and noise have been dealt with elsewhere in this EIS and this assessment has shown that the proposed mitigation measures will ensure that no significant adverse air quality impacts will result from the development and operation of the concrete products production area and that the cumulative impact from the all site operations will not result in any adverse air quality impacts. The Traffic and Transportation assessment provided at Section 15.0 of the EIS has concluded that the proposed concrete products production area at the existing cement quarry within the Lagan Cement Limited site will generate an estimated 62 additional heavy goods vehicle movements per day. The assessment has clearly established that volumes of traffic generated by the proposed concrete products production area will not have a significant impact on the surrounding road network. All junctions along the proposed haulage route have ample capacity to cater for the development traffic through the lifetime of the operation and road geometry along the haulage route is also sufficient to allow for the two-way Heavy Goods Vehicular traffic. Due to the relatively new access road to the site, the effect of site traffic on any of the residential dwellings in the area will be minimal Landscape And Visual Impacts Landscape and visual impacts related to the increased cement capacity are discussed in chapter 13 of this EIS. From chapter 13 it can be said that there will be minor impacts on Human Beings arising from the proposal to develop a concrete products production area. Environmental Impact Statement. 6-4

5 6.3 CUMULATIVE IMPACT The cumulative impact of the increase of cement production and the development of a concrete products production area will not be significant in terms of its effect on human beings. 6.4 MITIGATION MEASURES No mitigation measures are deemed necessary as a result of this proposal other than outlined elsewhere in this Document. 6.5 RESIDUAL IMPACTS The residual impact of the increase of cement production and the development of a concrete products production area will not be significant in terms of its effect on human beings. Environmental Impact Statement. 6-5