News

Legal challenge by environmentalists over Lough Neagh dredging

Boats dredging sand on Lough Neagh  Picture Mal McCann.
Boats dredging sand on Lough Neagh Picture Mal McCann. Boats dredging sand on Lough Neagh Picture Mal McCann.

THE Department of Environment is facing court action over its failure to halt the extraction of sand from Lough Neagh.

Friends of the Earth last night confirmed it is seeking leave for a judicial review over a decision by environment minister Mark H Durkan not to put an immediate stop the unauthorised dredging of sand from Lough Neagh.

It is understood Mr Durkan could have ordered a stop notice but instead issued a less rigid enforcement notice to five firms involved in the practice earlier this year.

In response the firms lodged an appeal with the Planning Appeals Commission and continue to pump thousands of tonnes of sand from the lake each week despite having no planning permission.

A spokesman for Friends of the Earth last night said it believed the department had failed in its obligations.

“A fundamental requirement for the Department is that the environmental and other effects of a development, including cumulative impacts, must be assessed and considered at an early stage,” he said.

“Sand dredging should therefore cease through the issuing of a stop notice and can only resume if planning permission is granted and it is demonstrated that it will not cause harm to the lough.

“The Department has failed to take a precautionary approach on this matter.”

Ireland’s largest inland waterway, Lough Neagh is designated as a Special Protection Area and is also an Area of Special Scientific Interest.

Around 1.2 million tonnes of sand are dredged from the bed of the lough each year.

The sand, which is favoured by builders, is then used by the construction industry.

It is believed around 150 people are employed in the sand extraction industry which has been operating since the 1930s.

A fee is paid to the Shaftesbury Estate, which owns the bed of the lake, for every tonne taken.

A spokesperson for the DoE said: “The enforcement notices issued by the department have now been appealed and the planning issues concerned will now be considered and determined by the Planning Appeals Commission.

"It is not appropriate to comment further on these issues pending the outcome of this process, suffice it to say that the appeal will consider a range of environmental and economic evidence associated with the dredging activity.”