PLANNING officials are investigating after complaints that a developer in Warrenpoint is attempting to block public access to a beauty spot on the shores of Carlingford Lough.
The dispute centres on the construction site of a house on the Rostrevor Road, adjacent to a beach known locally as Dobbins Point.
Residents have posted pictures of large boulders being moved onto the beach, which they claim oversteps the legal boundary of the building site and blocks a public right of way.
A Newry, Mourne and Down District Council spokesperson confirmed that the council’s planning department had been made aware of the issue.
“The matter has been referred to our Enforcement Section and is under investigation,” they said.
Speaking to the Irish News, Alliance MLA Patrick Brown said there was no issue with the house being built, but he claimed the developer had blocked off a traditional right of way along the coastline.
“Most recently, they moved large boulders which have been there for decades, if not hundreds of years,” he said.
Calling on the council to take action, he said Dobbins Point was “an incredibly important area for local people” who have enjoyed decades of being able to walk along the shoreline.
“It’s not acceptable that any developer could wrongfully attempt to take over this land and we’re investigating whether that is the case in this instance.”
The site owner, Conrad Haughian of Conrad Developments, told the Irish News he had no comment to make on the dispute.
One resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “There’s a lot of people who may disregard this, but many in the older generation will be concerned this land won’t be accessible to the public anymore.”
She said her understanding was that the previous site owner had purchased extra land from the Crown Estate, but this had not been challenged by the council at the time.
She also raised questions about whether a Marine Licence had been granted for moving the boulders on to the beach.
“A lot of this we are putting as the fault of the local councils who have not fought to keep this land in the public domain and register it for the community,” she said.
“It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty as well as an area of special scientific interest. That speaks volumes about how little importance the council place on this and yet we’re being constantly bombarded about our environment and biodiversity.”
Comparisons have also been made to Greenisland along the shores of Belfast Lough, where a stretch of the beach beside houses is no longer open to the public.
Meanwhile, it’s reported that nearby in Rostrevor the council is planning to reject an application to build a 45-unit residential development.
The Mourne Observer report that the 2021 application will appear before the council’s Planning Committee next week with recommendation to refuse.
The proposed shorefront development would demolish car sales and garage buildings to build a mixture of semi-detached and terraced houses along with 33 apartments.
A letter from the council’s planning department from November stated that the development would “result in unacceptable damage to the local character, environmental quality and residential amenity in the area,” adding that the site is “located within as area of natural beauty, which has a rural appearance dominated by green areas and woodland.”
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