Stoneyford: NI Water 'in contact' with police over bonfire material at beauty spot

The bonfire is at the NI Water reservoir in Stoneyford, north of Lisburn, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) recently revealed a £60,000 price tag on bonfire clean-ups at the beauty spot over the last five years.

The entrance to the site has again had a sign erected asking people to dump wood but NI Water says it will be passing any evidence gathered to police.

In images which have been provided to the LDRS, material including bed mattresses and plastics appear to have been dumped on the Stoneyford site despite a sign reading ‘Wood Only’.

These materials are known to release toxic fumes when set alight.

A NI Water spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that this activity is once again taking place on our site.

“We remain in regular contact with the PSNI, local representatives and the relevant statutory agencies. Security measures are in place, and any evidence gathered will be passed directly to the PSNI.

“NI Water would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that building bonfires on this site is illegal.

“The substances burned are harmful to the environment and the cost to remove bonfire debris is an unnecessary expense on an already stretched budget.”

A previous single clean-up bill at the site saw NI Water pay out £47,000 after contractors cleared the site ahead of the collected material being set alight for the July 11th night. This was said to be largely due to the disposal of tyres by a specialist contractor.

NI Water has previously confirmed in a letter, seen by the LDRS, that its staff members have been threatened on site when attempting to negotiate with those responsible for the dump collection and bonfire.

In recent weeks health concerns were raised about a bonfire site in south Belfast due to the presence of asbestos. This site is due to be cleared out by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

The LDRS contacted NIEA with the agency alluding to action required to be taken if toxic materials have been identified.

An NIEA spokesperson said: “NIEA Environmental Crime Unit (ECU) has not received any reports in relation to Stoneyford.

“NIEA’s resources are concentrated on preventing hazardous waste and other problem waste streams such as tyres from being burned on bonfires, as this is how we can have the greatest impact in meeting the outcome of a clean, healthy environment.

“In line with the DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) enforcement policy, NIEA assesses each incident on its merits before deciding on the most appropriate action.”

The spokesperson added: “It is the legal responsibility of the landowner to secure their land to prevent illegal depositing of waste. Where sufficient evidence is available NIEA may conduct criminal investigations in pursuit of offenders responsible for the depositing of illegal waste at bonfire sites.

“If the offenders responsible cannot be identified, it is the legal responsibility of the landowner to remove any waste deposited.”