Craigahulliar ruling quashed

Last week, at a High Court review hearing, Council’s legal representatives advised the court that Council would agree to the quashing of the planning decision.

This means that the application, which proposes to house 51 touring caravans and 49 static caravans at the site on the outskirts of Portrush, will be presented to the Council’s Planning Committee for determination at a later date.

The application by Blair’s Caravans Limited, was originally granted planning permission in June last year.

As part of the application sheds at the former quarry would be demolished to make way for caravans and 18 camping cabins. At the time the applicant was also given the go ahead for improvements to roads and footpaths in a bid to improve site access.

The court’s decision has been welcomed by residents in the area and former Coleraine councillor Christine Alexander, who took the application to court.

Speaking to The Times, Christine said: “Our biggest concern was the roads network in the area, they are just totally unsuitable for caravans. This application would have a huge impact on the privacy of Craigahulliar residents. The area is also a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and we felt that this application would have had a huge impact on the rural character of the area.”

“Residents were very unhappy at how the Planning Department dealt with this application. They felt that they could have conceded on their failings in advance of the High Court action. As a result, this action has cost thousands of pounds of public money in addition to my own costs.

“This has been a very stressful and time consuming period for local residents. It was wholly unnecessary had the planning officials correctly applied the relevant policies,” she said.