Calls for Lord Shaftesbury to sell Lough Neagh to local NI agency for nominal fee

The fresh water lough, owned by the Shaftesbury Estate, is the largest lake in the UK and Ireland and extremely popular with fishermen and boatsmen.

It is also become a major tourist attraction with many visiting the lough for water sports such as kayaking and paddle boarding.

Recently there have been a number of incidents in which boats have become entangled in weeds which have grown voraciously this past year.

One man who uses Lough Neagh said a number of keel boats had been stuck at the Kinnego Marina and he had been unable to use his yacht due to dense weeds and shallow water.

He said: “Council need urgent dredging at the marina, and we need a management plan from agencies to keep higher water levels on Lough Neagh or tourism will suffer.

“Lord Shaftesbury needs to sell the Lough to the government for £1 pound so Waterways Ireland can come on board to manage this waterway, as they do in the whole of Ireland.”

A spokesperson for Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council said: “The upkeep of Lough Neagh is managed through a multi-agency approach, including the following councils - Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Mid Ulster, Antrim and Newtownabbey and Lisburn and Castlereagh – as well as the Department for Infrastructure Rivers.

“This joint approach is required to deal with these concerns – and work is continuously ongoing to try and ensure areas of the Lough are maintained as best as possible for all users.

“Like many waterways, Lough Neagh has suffered environmental issues over the past 20 years at an alarming rate.

“This includes the impact of zebra mussels, which filter the water and increase weed growth, especially in marina bed areas. At present, there is no known treatment for Zebra Mussels.

“Council is responsible for the Kinnego Bay area of the Lough and only have permission to cut weeds in Kinnego Marina. This happens approximately once a month.

“There is a process in place to install matting in the berths at Kinnego over the winter months, when the weed is naturally low and the water levels higher. This will help reduce weed growth.

Council has no control over the water levels in the Lough – this is managed by the DfI Rivers by means of floodgates at Toome.

“Council will continue to access the resources required to address any further environmental impact on its waterways, including Kinnego Marina.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure said: “Any potential sale of Lough Neagh is a matter for the Shaftesbury Estate. DfI’s statutory responsibilities relate only to the control of water levels on Lough Neagh as far as climatic conditions allow and to dredge the channel at Sixmilewater River. It also maintains 47 navigational markers around the lough.”

There was no response from the solicitor representing the Shaftesbury Estate at the time of Portadown Times going to press.

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