Home is ‘300 metres’ from Woodburn site

Dr Slavka Sverakova moved into the cottage just off the Cairn Road with her husband in 1980.

The couple chose the spot near Woodburn forest specifically for its quiet rural location as well as the relatively clean air.

However, Dr Sverakova’s home is just 300 metres from the proposed site for an exploratory borehole.

The project is being undertaken by oil and gas exploration firm InfraStrata, which held two public information sessions on the plans at the Clarion Hotel last week.

The meetings were led by representatives from the company’s wider project team including environmental scientists, drilling experts, and civil engineers.

A former university lecturer, Dr Sverakova outlined her fears over the long term impact of the drilling operation.

“We moved into the cottage because we wanted somewhere quiet with clean air as my husband is asthmatic. If we had known this type of industrial site was eventually going to end up next to us, we would not have moved there,” she added.

The project is taking place under ‘permitted development’, which is reserved for relatively minor, non-contentious projects. This means planning permission is not required and there is no statutory requirement to hold a public consultation.

However, the perceived minor status of the plans was called into question by Dr Sverakova.

She claimed: “An industrial unit like a well site for drilling to the depth of 2km is not a minor change of the young forest.

“We have a responsibility to future generations; we have alternatives to oil and gas, but no alternatives to trees, or oxygen.”

However, Dr Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata, emphasized the project was subject to a number of conditions. “Before and during the drilling phase, noise monitoring will be undertaken to ensure that levels agreed with the local council are not exceeded and a traffic management plan will be agreed with Roads Service to minimise any potential impacts from site traffic,” he said.

“At the end of the four-month [exploration] period, the three-acre site within Woodburn forest will be fully reinstated and replanted in line with the terms of permitted development.”

Meanwhile, the firm indicated that all exploration activities exempted from requiring planning permission by DoE are still subject to regulation by other bodies, including DETI, NIEA and the Health and Safety Executive NI.