Lough Neagh sand-dredging: Appeal against order could cost £250,000

An end to dredging in Lough Neagh would be "catastrophic" for the construction industry, sand companies say

An appeal against an order to stop dredging sand from Lough Neagh could end up costing £250,000 in fees.

Five sand companies and the Shaftesbury estate, which owns the bed of the lough, are challenging a direction to cease extraction.

But an appeal also serves as an application for planning permission, and that will cost each of the six parties more than £40,000.

They were ordered to stop dredging by the environment minister last month.

The dredging had no planning permission and was taking place in an important bird habitat with European protection.

Mining

The companies and the estate have until mid-July to pay the planning application fee.

If they fail to pay, the Planning Appeals Commission, which is hearing the case, cannot adjudicate on whether planning permission ought to have been granted.

And as the case involves a type of mining, those appealing will have to include an environmental statement on what they believe will be the impact of the dredging.

They have until the end of November to supply that.

Documents lodged at the commission show that the Shaftesbury estate has four grounds of appeal.

They include that the dredging complies with existing European and domestic legislation, including environmental law.

Enforcement

It also claims the requirement to cease within a day of the departmental enforcement notice coming into effect at the end of June was "manifestly unreasonable".

The estate says that would have "catastrophic implications" for the construction industry, which relies on the sand.

The sand companies are also claiming the enforcement notices were "not served as required by law".

The department of the environment's own checklist spells out the likely environmental effects of the project that must be considered.

These include disturbance of the sand bars, the extent to which suction dredging creates craters in the bed of the lough, and the impact on fish and other species.

It also includes reference to the impact of wash from barges on wildlife and other users of the lough.