The Tallinn Administrative Court has postponed a decision on a complaint filed by NGOs and private individuals seeking to halt the construction of a planned defence industry park near P\u00e4rnu due to noise concerns.<\/p>\n
Defense firms manufacturing mines, explosives and missiles are due to take up residence at the new industrial park in Ermistu when it opens.<\/p>\n
However, the P\u00e4rak\u00fcla Society, Roheline P\u00e4rnumaa, Eesti Metsa Abiks and 27 private individuals went to court over the planned facility in October last year.<\/p>\n
The complainants argue that insufficient consideration has been given to the impact of the defence industry park on the area’s natural environment and local residents<\/p>\n
But now a postponement is expected to delay the court’s decision by several months and cannot be appealed.<\/p>\n
“The court found that additional evidence concerning the noise assessment is needed before a decision can be made,” the court’s spokesperson, Viivika Siplane, told ERR on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In the case, the P\u00e4rak\u00fcla Society, several environmental organisations and local residents are challenging a government order of August 22, 2025, which approved the national special spatial plan for the planned P\u00e4rnu 1 defence industry park near T\u00f5stamaa.<\/p>\n
They are also challenging the plan for compensatory measures concerning birdlife and the green network, while the P\u00e4rak\u00fcla Society is separately contesting forest notices issued by the Environmental Board.<\/p>\n
“According to the court’s preliminary position, the noise from the defence industry park cannot be regarded as national defence noise and is therefore subject to industrial noise standards. However, because the strategic environmental assessment did not assess whether the maximum noise level from blasting at the defence industry park complies with industrial noise limits, the Government of the Republic must submit additional evidence on the matter,” the Administrative Court’s representative explained.<\/p>\n
“After that, the complainants will be able to present their positions, and the court will set a new date for its decision,” Siplane noted.<\/p>\n
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