Just Say No To Lignite - Northern Area Plan

The Draft Northen Area Plan

Directors of the Just Say No to Lignite Campaign have expressed great concern at the reawakening of the lignite threat in the Ballymoney Area. It has been brought to the surface again with the publication of the Draft Northern Area Plan. This Plan lays out development strategies for the Coleraine, Ballymoney, Limavady and Moyle areas. It covers everything from where residents can build new homes, to where industries can be located, and how road systems will be changed to meet new traffic pressures. Once the Area Plan becomes law, it will be in force until 2016. It has just been published.

The new Plan proposes a massive increase in the area of land that will be protected for lignite mining. The Plan also talks freely about “exploitation of the lignite resource”, leaving the way open for commercial investors to revisit the mine and power station idea. These are a few of the more worrying items on the lignite agenda :

The area protected for the exploitation of lignite is now three times bigger than the previous plan, as shown below.
More than 500 additional residents have been brought into the new lignite exploitation zone.
Communities such as Dunaghy and part of Stranocum are in the lignite exploitation zone, as well as Roseyards Church and its burial ground.
Dunaverney and Druckendult are also now included in the new lignite exploitation zone, which extends as far as the roundabout at the Portrush Road.
The Draft NAP restricts any new homes being built or new businesses being started within the lignite exploitation zone.
Planned developments outside the new area may be rejected to prevent conflict with any future lignite exploitation.
The new area crosses and re-crosses the Gracehill and Kirk Roads; it also takes in part of the Kilraughts and Knock Roads. If these roads are included in the mine area, the local road system will be destroyed.

Map of protected area for lignite development under the draft northern area plan

View full size map

Obviously this plan places many more restrictions on the community, which has already been severely impacted upon by the prospect of a lignite mine. The directors of COLD would prefer to see the area being treated in the same manner as the rest of the province. Therefore, in response to the proposals in the draft NAP, the directors of COLD have held many public awareness meetings in and around the North Antrim area. These are organised as a means of informing local people just what the draft NAP could mean to them. Already, several thousand residents have felt stirred into commenting on or objecting to the extreme measures of the draft NAP. These comments are currently being considered by the planning service. The issue is so contentious that there will almost certainly be a judicial review in late 2007 or 2008. The directors of COLD are likely to be heavily involved in this issue.

More information on the Draft Northern Area Plan is available on the Planning Service Website http://www.planningni.gov.uk. Click here for the Northern Area Homepage.

The Draft Plan in More Detail

Two short quotes taken directly from the draft NAP...

“7.1 The Plan safeguards this [lignite] resource, to ensure the reserves remain exploitable if and when the need arises.”

“7.2 By their nature, scale, location and duration of operation, mineral developments frequently impact more severely on the environment that any other form of development. They can damage or destroy sites of nature conservation or earth science value and sites of historic archaeological interest. They can also have a significant visual impact on the landscape and an adverse effect on residential amenity.”