Court of Appeal quashes licences granted for gas caverns

Campaigners outside Belfast Laganside Court before they won a legal bid

The Court of Appeal has quashed a former Stormont minister's decision to approve a gas storage cavern project in County Antrim.

Last week, campaigners won their judicial review against the plan to construct seven large caverns under Larne Lough.

On Thursday, judges ordered that the consents be quashed and returned to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) for reconsideration.

The Department and the company behind the project, Islandmagee Energy Limited, have the option of appealing to the Supreme Court.

Campaigners had taken their case to the Court of Appeal after their judicial review was dismissed in September 2023.

They had argued that the gas caverns project was cross-cutting in nature and should have been decided on by the Executive.

Construction licence

A marine construction licence was granted to the project by the former Daera minister Edwin Poots.

But the Court of Appeal ruled that he had acted irrationally and breached the ministerial code.

At a hearing in Belfast, the court was told agreement had been reached that Ministerial approval of the marine construction licence, discharge of effluent consent and water abstraction licence should all be quashed.

Daera or Islandmagee Energy Limited could still seek an appeal at the Supreme Court in London.

In a statement, Daera said it was "considering the full written court judgment and its implications very carefully and will be making no further comment at this stage”.

Islandmagee Energy Limited has also been asked for a response to the decision.