Victory declared in Save Craigavon Park campaign after Court of Appeal ruled against new £45m Southern Regional College building

Following the Court of Appeal decision, a spokesperson for the Save Craigavon City Park and Lakes said: “We won!! The Judges ruled in our favour! Our park is safe!”

Questions have been raised by some members of the group how much of ratepayers’ money Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council has spent on fighting this case which began more than five years ago.

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The campaign group self-funded the legal case against Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council’s decision to grant planning permission to build the new £45m Southern Regional College campus on the edge of the south lake at Craigavon.

Following the erection of the South Lakes Leisure Centre, the group felt that another massive new build such as this college would have a detrimental effect on Craigavon City Park and the extensive wildlife within the park and lakes including otters.

Senior judges identified a failure to properly consider the potential harm to any otters at the proposed Southern Regional College site.

With planning policy breaches also cited, Lord Justice McCloskey held that the decision to approve the building project was unsustainable in law.

The verdict represents victory in a legal challenge mounted by a grandmother who lives close to the development location.

Clare McCann brought proceedings after Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council gave the green light to the new college in January 2019.

Campaigners opposed to the campus being built in the area claim it will reduce green space in a public park, and lead to an annual influx of thousands of students.

Concerns were also raised about the potential impact on wildlife, with fears raised that otter activity could be harmed.

At a previous hearing, lawyers for the College insisted no actual evidence of the aquatic mammals classed as a European protected species had been found at the site.

But Mrs McCann's barrister argued that a survey carried out in 2016 was out of date by the time the project was approved three years later.

Apparently contradictory information contained in a subsequent report for a nearby leisure centre had not been taken into account, it was contended.

Ms McCann appealed after a High Court judge dismissed her initial application for a judicial review.

Ruling on the renewed challenge, Lord Justice McCloskey said the planning decision was not in accordance with policies contained in the Craigavon Area Plan 2010.

He also held that it breached parts of the Habitats Regulations, taking into account inaccurate and incomplete information, and disregarding material relating to the presence of the mammals on the site.

“This translated to a duty to consider all material and factually accurate information bearing on the issue of possible detrimental impact on otters in the event of the proposed development proceeding,” the judge said.

“The conclusion that this duty was not performed is irresistible.”

Making a quashing order, he confirmed: “This court concludes that the impugned grant of planning permission is unsustainable in law.”

Following the judgment Ms McCann’s solicitor, Claire McKeegan, praised the efforts of campaign group Save Craigavon City Park and Lake.

Ms McKeegan said: “Our clients have been campaigning for five years to preserve their park.

“Following the Covid-19 pandemic and all of the health issues society is dealing with due to lockdowns and illness, our green spaces are all the more critical.”

A spokesperson for the council said: “Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council acknowledges the ruling of the Court of Appeal today, Tuesday 25 October. The Council will now take time to review the judgement and consider its options.”

Alliance MLA Eóin Tennyson welcomed the decision by the Court of Appeal.

Mr Tennyson said: “I welcome today’s decision by the Court of Appeal to overturn the planning approval for a Southern Regional College campus within Craigavon Lakes. The decision by councillors on the planning committee of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council to approve this application in 2019 was unwise in the extreme.

“I must place on record my tribute to the tireless efforts of campaigners and local residents who have worked hard to ensure the views of local citizens were heard and that the local environment and wildlife within this much loved park was protected.

“SRC and Council must now recognise and accept the large public opposition to the building of a campus at Craigavon Lakes and urgently turn their attention to finding an alternate suitable site within the area.”

SDLP Councillor Ciaran Toman said: “I am absolutely delighted that permission for development in Craigavon City Park and Lakes has been overturned.

"If there were any kind of proposals to build this new Southern Regional College in either Lurgan or Portadown People’s Parks, there would be an immense public outcry, spearheaded by politicians across the political spectrum. So what made Craigavon Lakes any different!

"I want to pay tribute to all the campaigners who worked so hard on this. This community owes a debt of gratitude to each and every effort.

"Ever since being on Council from 2021, I am committed to openness and transparency and Council's behaviour throughout has been wholly inappropriate and a worrying use of ratepayer’s money. I will continue to push for progress on this matter and hold ABC Council to account.”

"The power of people is stronger than the people in power," said Cllr Toman.