Lough Neagh dredgers get permission to suck up 1.5m tonnes from bed annually

If otters are found, work is to stop immediately

The application was first lodged in 2017 for sand and gravel extraction, and the News Letter has discovered that it now has the green light – albeit subject to conditions.

Back in October, SDLP infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon said she was minded for the project to proceed; now, that permission is official.

The issue has long been a bone of contention for environmental groups concerned about the potential for harming wildlife.

The dredging is done by barges which use suction pumps to hoover up the bed of the lough, which is the UK’s biggest freshwater lake, and is designated an area of Special Scientific Interest and a Wetland of International Importance.

It is an average of only 29ft deep (but goes down to 112ft in a trench in the lough’s north-western side).

A planning report in 2018 set out the history behind the scheme, saying that five different businesses had come together under the umbrella of the Lough Neagh Sand Traders to make the application.

“The extraction of sand from the bed of Lough Neagh has been a long-established practice, ongoing for approx. 70 years, albeit without the benefit of planning permission,” the report said.

It adds that in 2015 enforcement notices were served on the sand traders, saying they were engaged in “unauthorised working of minerals”. These enforcement notices were appealed.

The operations at stake were significant – one assessment cited in the planning documents is that Lough Neagh supplies up to half of all Northern Ireland’s sand for construction and other uses.

It was also claimed 234 jobs depended on the dredging and processing of the sand/gravel.

What followed were years of wranglings over specific bits of law, regional strategies, and ecological considerations.

It all culminated in a decision, made last Wednesday, January 6, to grant permission to Lough Neagh Sand Traders Ltd, with these main conditions:

> Dredging ends in May 2032;

> It is limited to two specific areas in the north west of the lough, with compliance monitored electronically;

> It is capped at 1.5m tonnes per calendar year;

> They must stop immediately if bats or otters are found to be present.

> In granting permission, the department of infrastructure also warned the operators to beware of harming any other wild animals or their homes (such as badgers, birds and newts).

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