Fermanagh and Omagh District council has voted to oppose extending planning permission for Dalradian Gold’s facility in Co Tyrone.
The Canadian firm first sought permission for temporary buildings, parking, a waste rock storage area, tunnel extension and a waste water treatment system outside Greencastle in 2013.
The council say they were due restore the site to its original state by February 2021. But Dalradian applied to council on November 27, 2020 to have this extended up to February 2023.
Read more: Police accused of 'escalating aggression' against community in protest
The company has since taken its case to the Planning Appeals Commission, saying the council did not make a determination.
As part of that process, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has been invited to submit its view to the PAC.
Outlining why they oppose the extension, a FODC planner told councillors at a Special Council Meeting on July 21: “The planning department’s view really is that the continued retention of any of the development along the Camcosy Road removes any of the natural green space that there was between the existing buildings and that really has a detrimental visual impact along this part of the Camcosy Road.
“This isn’t just a typical site in the countryside, this is a site in the AONB [Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty] which has a higher and more important visual test.”
He also said they believe the site, which is between two others, ‘is creating a ribbon of development’ which is contrary to planning policy CTY 8.
Speaking after the presentation, Independent Cllr Emmet McAleer raised concerns the “ environmental impact seems to have been completely cast aside”.
Cllr Robert Irvine, UUP, said: “We’ve got all the statutory consultees coming back and saying they’ve got no problem with it.
“I would be in a mood to approve the planning permission, not refuse it.”
The vote to approve the response to the PAC opposing the extension passed with 17 for, seven against, one non-vote and three abstentions.
Councillors also approved a letter to the PAC to ask for confirmation of a timescale for the public inquiry into Dalradian’s application for a full mine in the Sperrins.
A spokesperson for Dalradian said: “An application was made to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in November 2020 to retain mining related surface infrastructure at our Camcosy site, extending the period from three to five years.
“The application was not determined by the local council within the statutory time limit and the company referred the matter to the Planning Appeals Commission. Fermanagh and Omagh District Council remain a consultee in the process.”
A spokesperson for FODC said: “The Council has been notified by the Planning Appeals Commission that the applicant has appealed to the Commission against the non-determination of the application under Section 60 of the Planning Act, and therefore jurisdiction on this application is now with the PAC.”
READ NEXT:
-
Belfast councillor fears Stormont might reverse fracking ban
-
NI environment bosses failing own targets at 40% of 'protected' sites
-
NI community takes fight against Dalradian Gold mine to No10
-
Record NI temperature marked in global WMO report on escalating climate crisis
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
