Local campaigners stop oil terminal plan in its tracks as Council forced to admit mistake
Environmental campaigners in Whitehead, Co Antrim are celebrating a major climbdown by their local council after it admitted not following the correct planning process during its approval of major expansion work at a defunct oil terminal.
This morning (Monday 09 September 2024), the High Court in Belfast ordered Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to quash its 25 April 2024 decision to grant planning permission for redevelopment and expansion of the Cloghan Point Oil Terminal at Whitehead.
The Council admitted failing to hold a pre-determination hearing before issuing its final decision, a fact that was only brought to light after proceedings were issued against it by a member of the Stop Whitehead Oil Terminal (SWOT) campaign group.
Speaking as the quashing order was handed down, PILS Director and Solicitor Maria McCloskey praised the group’s efforts:
“This challenge is a true ‘David and Goliath’ situation.
We all want to have confidence that major environmental planning decisions are made properly. In the face of the significant resources of the Council and a major fossil fuel company, SWOT took on this complex legal challenge to protect the natural environment that we all enjoy.
Today, the High Court has vindicated SWOT’s decision to question how the Council processed this application. This is a public interest victory of seismic proportions!”
Motivated by their desire to protect the local environment from harm, a member of the SWOT campaign group issued legal proceedings against both the Council and the Department for Infrastructure, after decision-makers ignored SWOT’s repeated calls to review the decision.
The Council’s decision to grant planning permission – coupled with the Department for Infrastructure’s refusal to scrutinise the fossil fuel company’s plans, using a power known as ‘call in’ – raised fundamental questions about environmental decision-making and accountability in Northern Ireland.
The PILS Project provided SWOT with its full range of public interest litigation support services to launch these court cases:
- direct representation from our own solicitor,
- obtaining expert legal advice and representation from legal experts on a pro bono (free) basis, and
- financial support to lodge the judicial review application in court.
Maria McCloskey also paid tribute to the wider legal team who worked with her on this issue:
“Every public interest challenge that PILS supports is a genuine collaborative effort. I am hugely grateful to Acland Bryant, who offered his advice to SWOT through PILS’ Pro Bono Register, and to his colleague Marc Willers KC at Garden Court Chambers and Claire Nevin at Francis Taylor Building for their insight and guidance.”
Following the quashing of the decision to grant planning permission, the planning application will go back to the Council for reconsideration.
PILS now urge the Council to consider all the legal points raised in the challenge and, vitally, consider the issues of emissions as well as the potential cumulative impact of several significant fossil fuel developments planned for the East Antrim area.
SWOT’s press release is available to download here.
Press coverage:
- BBC News NI: Cloghan Point: Oil terminal expansion plans legally challenged – BBC News
- Belfast Live (article + video): Belfast Lough oil terminal permission quashed at High Court – Belfast Live
- Belfast Telegraph: Cloghan Point: Controversial approval of oil terminal in Belfast Lough to be quashed | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
- Irish News: Belfast Lough oil terminal expansion decision to be quashed – The Irish News
- Irish Legal News: Planning permission for Northern Ireland oil terminal expansion quashed | Irish Legal News
A controversial decision to approve the multi-million pound expansion of an oil terminal on the shores of Belfast Lough is to be quashed following a High Court ruling pic.twitter.com/5YzX5cN69W
— The Irish News (@irish_news) September 9, 2024