Mine objectors urged to battle on

THOUSANDS of people opposed to a large part of north Antrim being turned into a lignite mine have been urged to keep up their guard and battle on.

The lignite debate has gone quiet in recent years but North Antrim Assembly members, the DUP’s Mervyn Storey and Ulster Unionist Robert Coulter, are urging people involved in the big campaign of opposition, which reached a peak several years ago, to continue the fight.

They are calling on objectors to respond in numbers to the latest developments - but you have to be quick as submissions have to be in by this Friday, September 3.

Mr Storey has urged anyone who has received a letter from the Planning Service in relation to an independent examination of the Draft Northern Area Plan to respond reiterating their opposition to lignite mining in the area.

Mr Storey said: “I have been contacted by many people who have received a letter from the Planning Service and have been concerned that it may have been cause for concern or meant that the Department of Environment were considering looking again at the issue of lignite extraction in North Antrim.

“This letter has been sent to anyone who previously lodged an objection to lignite mining in north Antrim during the process of bringing forward the Draft Northern Area Plan. Because of legal action against the plan it was delayed and the Department is now carrying out an independent examination of objections. People are simply being asked whether they still wish their objections to be noted or whether they wish to withdraw them.

“I would strongly urge anyone in receipt of the letter to tick the box in the accompanying form stating ‘full’ which means they still wish their objections to be noted. They should then either return this directly to the Planning Service by the deadline of 3rd September or if they wish to bring it in to their local DUP Advice Centre we will ensure that they are returned before this deadline.

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“I believe it is vitally important that the continued objections by the people of North Antrim to lignite extraction are maintained. I can fully understand why some people will have been concerned when they received the letter but this is merely part of the process which Planning Service must go through in finalising the Northern Area Plan.

“The countryside and economy of North Antrim would be absolutely devastated through the extraction of this fuel and a huge number of farmers and landowners would see their land completely wiped out.

“I know that the campaign a number of years ago ensured that those responsible for decision making at that time could not ignore the level of opposition and that this still will be the case today.

“Part of that process is ensuring that the objections which were lodged against it through the Area Planning process and that is why I would urge anyone who has received this letter to respond to it.’

Meanwhile, people who wrote letters of complaint opposing the Ballymoney lignite project must reply to the Planning Service before the new deadline of Friday 3rd September, two leading North Antrim Ulster Unionists, Robin Swann and Rev Dr Robert Coulter said.

Mr Swann is North Antrim UUP Chairman and Party Spokesman on Social Economy, Energy and Consumer Affairs, while Rev Dr Coulter is the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner.

The two UUP men issued their joint statement as it emerged this week the Planning Service has just issued letters to all 33,500 objectors to the original lignite mining proposal in May 2005.

The UUP statement said: “We would strongly urge the 33,500 people to return their responses to the Planning Service to confirm that they still ‘object in full’ to any lignite development in the area.

“If this can be achieved, hopefully, we will be able to stop the lignite proposal dead in its tracks again.

“The only drawback now is that these confirmations must be returned by Friday 3rd of September which does not give us a lot of time.

“We would highly commend the role which the community played in stopping the original lignite proposal, and especially the work of the pressure group Collective Objectors against Lignite Development (COLD).

“The people of North Antrim must remember that although the Stormont Executive imposed a three-year moratorium on the lignite development in the constituency in 2007, that moratorium expires in October 2010 - in a matter of weeks’ time.

“The people of North Antrim should be under no illusion that if a lignite mine goes ahead, our beloved constituency will become the wasteland of Northern Ireland - perhaps even the biggest blight on the whole island of Ireland itself.

“The North Antrim constituency has built its economic power base mainly on two industries - agriculture and tourism. Both will be totally devastated if the lignite development goes ahead.

“When the Assembly’s summer recess comes to an end, we would urge the Stormont Executive to not just extend the existing moratorium on lignite mining, but to pass legislation permanently banning such mining.

“The lignite development should not be simply dismissed as a Ballymoney problem or a blight which will just affect North Antrim. The whole of this Province will suffer if lignite mining is given the ‘green light’.

“We are, therefore, asking not just the North Antrim community to rally behind the campaign to oppose lignite mining, but we are calling on the entire population of Northern Ireland to support our cause against lignite and protect the Ulster environment for the sake of both present and future generations,” said Rev Dr Coulter and Mr Swann.

The Times has obtained one of the letters.

The letter is headed ‘Draft Northern Area Local Plan 2016 - Independent Examination’ and in it, Principal Planning Officer Heather McSparran, wrote: ‘As you are aware the Department published the above Draft Plan for public consultation in May 2005 with provision for an 8 week period for the submission of objections.

‘In January 2006 however, leave was granted to Seaport Investments for a judicial review of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) that accompanied the Draft Plan.

‘Following a protracted legal process, the Department is now in a position to progress the plan to the next stage of the development plan process.

‘As a consequence, the Department has decided to cause an Independent Examination to be held to consider relevant objections to the Draft Plan. The Department has advised the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) that it intends in the near future to formally request that the Commission undertake the Examination.

‘Prior to the submission of the formal request, and due to the intervening time period between the production of the Draft Plan and this next stage in the process, the PAC has asked the Department to write to all objectors to determine those that wish to pursue their objection(s).

‘My purpose in writing to you is therefore to request that you advise the Department, through the completion and return of the attached form, whether you wish to pursue or withdraw all or part of your objection(s), identifying clearly which part(s) you wish to withdraw. A hard copy of your objection is attached to assist you.

‘The completed form should be returned by 4.30pm on Friday 3rd September 2010 to the Coleraine Sub-Divisional Planning Office at the above address or by e-mail to [email protected] as the PAC has asked the Department to advise it of the number of withdrawn objections at the earliest opportunity.

‘Following receipt of the forms, the Department will notify the PAC of those objectors that wish to pursue their objections. Subsequent to this, the PAC will write to you separately advising you of the procedures in relation to the Independent Examination and your options regarding the presentation of your objection(s) to it,’ said the letter from County Hall, Coleraine.