Press release

Sammy Wilson overturns advice to grant protection to ice-age site

3 November 2008

Green campaigners are demanding answers from Environment Minister Sammy Wilson following his decision to overturn official advice to grant legal protection to an ice-age site in County Tyrone. Lisnaragh Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) was rescinded on Thursday despite a recommendation from the DOE's Environment Agency that it be designated.

The Minister is meeting his officials today, amid suspicion that he caved into pressure from landowners and the Stormont Environment Committee. Owners of the land, fearing that designation would hamper their plans to quarry the site for its sand deposits, had lobbied the Assembly Environment Committee.

Friends of the Earth Campaigner Lisa Fagan explained:

"The legislation [1] is quite clear in two important respects: the Department has no discretion, it must designate any site which meets the scientific criteria; and social and economic factors can play no part in the designation process. It is for Planning Service to decide whether the site can be quarried, but the designation must proceed because the geological criteria have been satisfied [2]."

Friends of the Earth is demanding an explanation from the Minister and the prompt designation of the site:

"Sammy Wilson's u-turn raises important questions: has the Minister overturned official advice in order to clear the way for mineral exploitation of this ice-age site? And will he fulfil his statutory duty to protect this site, or leave himself exposed to a legal challenge?"

The Minister's intervention in this case was only possible because the Northern Ireland Environment Agency is a branch of DOE. If Northern Ireland had an independent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the site could have been designated without the need for ministerial approval.

Ms Fagan concluded:

"Sammy Wilson's appointment as Environment Minister is a classic case of the fox being put in charge of the chicken coup. Without an EPA, the protection of our environment will continue to be subject to malign political influence."

Notes

[1] The Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002.

[2] Planning permission is required for all mineral exploitation including quarrying for sand, and planning applications are determined by DOE Planning Service. Planning decisions are discretionary, and social and economic factors can be taken into consideration. ASSI designation, on the other hand, is not discretionary: the Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 states that the Department SHALL designate all qualifying sites. A site's designation as an ASSI is one of the factors that Planning Service would take into account when determining an application. ASSI designation does not prohibit development of the site.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust