Calls for security review at illegal Mobuoy dump

The Mobuoy site, located on the outskirts of the city, is a former recycling plant

There are calls for a review of security at the illegal Mobuoy dump near Londonderry after councillors were told people were breaking into the site.

More than a million tonnes of waste was illegally dumped at the large site before it shut in 2013.

Questions around security were raised as officials from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and the Department of Agriculture updated councillors on plans to make the site safe.

Councillors were told padlocks had been "tampered with" and chains securing gates cut.

The NIEA said it could not introduce extra security measures such as CCTV because it does not own the site.

In February, it emerged that fixing environmental damage at Mobuoy could cost up to £700m.

The figure is contained in 2022/23 accounts from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).

Officials estimate a cost range of between £17m and £700m.

The NIEA does not own the site but inspects it on a weekly basis, as well as testing the nearby Faughan River, which supplies a significant proportion of Derry's drinking water.

Padlocks have been tampered with and chains cut, councillors were told

At a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council on Wednesday, a councillor said that fly-tipping at the site was an ongoing issue.

Councillors heard of one particular incident of fly-tipping "within the site boundary" of Mobuoy.

This was identified by NIEA staff in March with contents needing to be removed after liaising with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) as the materials were deemed a "fire risk".

Mobuoy project manager Claire O'Neill from the NIEA told councillors they had staff on the site "every single week as part of the extensive monitoring programme."

She said despite not owning Mobuoy, NIEA staff were carrying out repairs to padlocks and gates.

"It is us that is repairing those and it's an ongoing issue," she said.

She said they had considered what extra security measures could be taken, but could not lawfully proceed because they do not own the site.

The River Faughan runs past the Mobuoy dump

Sinn Fein councillor Alex Duffy said he had seen the gate to the Mobuoy site open as recently as last week and was aware of people dumping there.

"I would be quite frequently up around that area and I just noticed as early as last week that it was lying open," he said.

"We know padlocks keep being removed and people keep going in and dumping in the dump."

Speaking to BBC News NI following the meeting, Mr Duffy said he had noticed several incidences when the gates had been forcibly opened.

"I would travel past the area a few times a week and you would always notice when the gate has been left open," he said.

"What people are doing is they are either forcing or cutting the locks to gain access for what I assume is fly-tipping, it's an ongoing issue."

He said people forcibly gaining access to the closed-off site was not only a security issue, but a health and safety one for those trespassing.

"Sometimes on the occasions when the gates are locked and people can't get access to the site themselves, they simply leave rubbish and fly-tip just outside the gate just at the side of the road," he said.