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October 15, 2024
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Oil terminal campaigners in NI urge new Infrastructure Minister to examine controversial approval


Campaigners concerned about plans for a major oil terminal on the Antrim coast have urged the new Infrastructure Minister to examine the council’s decision to approve it.

Mid and East Antrim Council greenlit the controversial £30m Cloghan Point Oil Terminal near Whitehead in September despite 400 objections.




But those opposed to the plan say their decision flies in the face of Northern Ireland’s climate commitments and that it will adversely impact local nature and the community.

Read more: Mid and East Antrim Council making ‘major’ decisions on new fossil fuel projects

Read more: XRNI protest Cloghan Point oil terminal application at Go petrol Belfast

Over 200 letters were delivered to the Department for Infrastructure’s Belfast headquarters on Wednesday morning, including correspondence from campaign groups including Stop Whitehead Oil Terminal, Friends of the Earth and Extinction Rebellion.

Hilary McCollum from Stop Whitehead Oil Terminal told us: “This is a precious ecosystem and a fragile ecosystem and we are potentially going to risk all of that just to import more oil when we know we need to stop being so dependent on oil – not increasing our reliance on it.

She added: “We handed over 200 letters from members of the public. They are concerned about the possibility of oil leaks, explosions… [and] that this is sending the wrong message at a time of climate crisis.

“It’s an area I walk every day with my dogs. It is a very peaceful place.

“I’ve seen dolphins there, otters, seals, gannets and curlew, cormorant – all sorts of birds. On the cliffs just behind there are peregrine falcon’s nests.

The letters were handed to the personal secretary of DfI’s acting director for regional planning, governance and legislation(Image: FOE NI)

“The application has already been approved,” she continued, “but we feel it has major implications for Belfast Lough’s ecosystem in terms of a huge increase in road haulers heading from the Whitehead area into Belfast but also because of climate change… that’s being driven by fossil fuels.

“Northern Ireland already has four oil terminals – there is absolutely no strategic need for another. We want this application to be called in so the Department for Infrastructure can consider it properly and take into account the regional implications.”

Cloghan Point Oil Terminal near Whitehead was categorised as a ‘major’ development by the council but DfI, which was without a minister for two years, decided not to take the planning application out of local planners’ hands under ‘regionally significant’ or ‘contentious’ provisions.

They told us at the time: “The Department has, however, issued a ‘Notification Direction’ to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council on 19 May 2022… requiring the council to notify the Department when it reaches a recommendation in relation to planning application LA02/2018/1145/F [Cloghan Point].

“This will allow the Department the opportunity to assess, prior to a decision being issued by the council, whether or not the application raises issues of such importance that their impact is considered to extend to a sub-regional or regional level to warrant the ‘call in’ of the application to the Department for determination.”

LCC Group, which is behind the plan’s for Cloghan Point and runs Go Petrol Stations, plans to store 199,900 tonnes of oil on site.

Concerns have also been raised about its impact on the nearby railway lines as well as increased traffic.

Hilary added: “We will have at least 300 additional vehicle movements every day – most of those are HGVs road tankers. They are going to be going through Eden and Carrickfergus, they are going to be going past two primary schools and a secondary school.”

James Orr of Friends of the Earth said: “This proposal threatens the delicate ecosystem of Belfast Lough, home to seals, dolphins, porpoises and otters as well as numerous seabirds including red and amber list species. It will increase air, noise and light pollution.

“Northern Ireland deserves a clean and safe future. The Department for Infrastructure has a responsibility to ensure that planning decisions provide protection for our environment.”

Campaigners opposed to an Antrim coast oil terminal outside DfI’s Belfast HQ(Image: Shauna Corr)

Richard Gill, from Extinction Rebellion Northern Ireland added: “Fossil fuels are bringing us to the brink of catastrophe. There is no justification for expanding fossil fuel infrastructure. Build a just transition off fossil fuels in Northern Ireland – we deserve better than more oil terminals.”

The proposed oil terminal also has negative implications for the adjacent grade B2 listed limestone harbour, Whiteharbour.

Terence Stitt of Whiteharbour said: “For years and years this area has been bombarded with major power and fuel infrastructure projects. The time has come to stand up against this type of proposal, keep our A2 coast road safe and promote the beautiful assets that we have locally to the many tourists now visiting the area.”

DfI and LCC were contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for LCC subsidiary, Cloghan Point (Holdings) Limited, said: Cloghan Point (Holdings) Limited supported its planning application with a voluntary Environmental Statement which assured all the Statutory Consultees on the requisite environmental factors.

“Consequently, at the meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Planning Committee on 7 September 2023, the Committee unanimously supported the recommendation to approve the application.

“The application was then forwarded to the Department for Infrastructure for it to consider if the application would be ‘called in.’ Cloghan Point (Holdings) Limited awaits the Department’s decision.”

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