ENVIRONMENTALISTS have told of their disappointment after a Stormont department approved an application to allow sand to be extracted from Lough Neagh.
Department for Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon gave five extraction firms the green light to keep removing sand from the lough bed yesterday.
Ireland’s largest lake, Lough Neagh holds several important environmental designations including being a Special Protection Area (SPA), Ramsar site and an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI).
Campaigners have voiced concerns about the impact of sand extraction from the lake on the environment and wildlife around the lough.
Around 1.5 million tonnes are extracted each year using large boats which pump sand from the lough bed before transporting ashore.
In 2015 environment minister Mark H Durkan issued an enforcement notice to sand extraction firms requiring them to halt.
However, traders were allowed to continue operating while the decision was appealed.
In 2017 the Court of Appeal quashed the decision not to order an immediate halt to authorised extraction with senior judges holding that Mr Durkan took the wrong approach when he instead served enforcement notices.
A public inquiry was held in 2018 and last year the Planning Appeals Commission found that extraction should be allowed to continue.
Sand extractors will now be allowed to operate within two distinct areas totalling 3.1km square in the north west corner of the lough close to Ballyronan in Co Derry.
Ms Mallon said a final decision will only be issued when a specific agreement, known as a Section 76 planning agreement, has been reached with relevant parties.
“This approval was a finely balanced decision where I had to weigh up the various benefits with the potential for harm to the designation features of the lough,” she said.
James Orr from Friends of the Earth last voiced his disappointment at the decision.
“Following this decision today makes no difference if an area is designated as a special protection site….it’s a sad day and means nowhere is special in Northern Ireland,” he said.
Green Party leader Clare Bailey was also critical of the development.
"Northern Ireland is disintegrating into an environmental wasteland and it's under the watch of Executive parties that give us all of the soundbites about addressing climate breakdown and the ecological crisis, but none of the substance," she said.
Gordon Best from the Mineral Producers Association said the sand extraction industry is tightly regulated and welcomed the decision.
“We welcome it after a long and expansive process long and expansive process,” he said.
