CALNI intends to legally challenge Poots' decision to grant planning approval for Rose Energy Incinerator

31^st August 2010

The CommunitiesAgainst the Lough Neagh Incinerator (CALNI) has responded to DOE Minister EdwinPoot’s intention to approve planning permission for the proposed Rose Energy incinerator on the shores of LoughNeagh. Expressing the collective outrage of the thousands of objectors to theplanning application, CALNI President Danny Moore said today,

“This is one of the worst planning decisions ever made in Northern Ireland.

“The fact that it has been made by a locally elected Minister inthe face of such overwhelming opposition marks a complete failure of both planningpolicy and the democratic process. If this is the Minister’s response tocriticism about John Lewis and Belfast City Airport he is playing a verydangerous game.

Minister Approves Plans for a Biomass Fuel Plant

DEPARTMENT OF THEENVIRONMENT

31 August 2010

Minister approves plans for a biomass fuelled power plant

Environment Minister Edwin Poots today announced his intention to approve plansfor a biomass fuelled power plant at Glenavy, Co. Antrim.

The planning application by Rose Energy Limited was designated under Article 31of the Planning (NI) Order in September 2008. Thepower plant will be fuelled by poultry bedding and meat and bone meal producingapproximately 30MW of electricity as an output of the incinerationprocess.

The Minister said: “The power plant facility will create in the region of300-400 construction jobs and approximately 30 permanent jobs in the operationof the facility once constructed. It will also have indirect employmentand investment benefits in connection with Belfast Port and the haulageindustry in Northern Ireland.”

Sir Reg Empey calls for urgent reassessment of Glenavy incinerator project

Sir Reg Empey was not able to make the CALNI candidates meeting on Thursday 28th April. However he took the time to meet with CALNI officers the following day. Commenting on the meeting, Danny Moore, CALNI President, said that Sir Reg “had clearly done quite a bit of preparation work for the meeting and was well briefed on a number of aspects of the application and our objection. We felt that the discussion went very well and that he fully understood where we were coming from and the strength of feeling in the area.”

Sir Reg has now issued a press release giving his considered views following the meeting. Commenting on this latest development, Danny Moore said “As you can tell from the release Sir Reg is the first MLA to grasp the absurdity of the situation for the poultry industry. Even if they manage to bulldoze through an approval at this stage not only will CALNI seek a Judicial Review of that decision, but there are a raft of other things that would need to happen before Rose would ever get up and running - not least the follow up application to connect the plant to the grid. Thus, betting the future of the poultry industry on the outcome of a series of highly risky decisions that could easily take five years to work through is beyond reckless. It is time to step back and reassess the options.”

CALNI welcomes the views expressed in the Empey statement, which is reproduced below.

As a community organisation, CALNI jealously guards its non-party political and cross-community standing. There is no implied support for the views on other issues of either Sir Reg Empey or his party.

Meeting at Lisburn City Council - Monday 5th October

Danny_small Danny Moore, the CALNI president, delivered a strong message detailing the ways in which CALNI has not only identified the serious failings of the Rose Energy proposal, but also come up with technically and economically viable alternatives for the poultry industry. Questions followed that were taken by Danny, the CALNI chairman Ray Clarke, George Bain and Michael High. Many of them were more statements of support than questions of detail. Several councillors supported our call for outright rejection of the application. This is more positive than previous calls for a public inquiry.

Jobs warning over NI power plant

Hundreds of future jobs would be at risk if approval is given for a new power station in County Antrim, a NI pharmaceutical boss has claimed.

Rose Energy is asking for planning permission to build the plant, which will use poultry litter and bone meal as an energy source, near Glenavy. But Peter Fitzgerald of Randox Laboratories says it could force his firm out of nearby Crumlin. He said plans to create 354 jobs would be at risk if the plan succeeds.

The chief executive is worried about potential emissions from the proposed plant. "We export more than 97 per cent of what we produce to over 130 countries around the world and employ more than 800 because of our hard-earned success," he said.

Lough Neagh Incinerator Protestors march on Stormont promising legal action - Monday 23rd Nov.

Up to 100 men, women and children who are resident around Lough Neagh marched on Stormont today in a warning to DoE Minister Edwin Poots that they will take legal action all the way to the European Court unless he rules against the Lough Neagh Incinerator.

Poots0911a

While the protestors were outside supported by a cross party selection of local MLA’s, a delegation of five residents met with Edwin Poots to present the case against the proposed incinerator at Lough Neagh.

They demanded that the Minister reject the planning application outright or at the very least call a full public inquiry to investigate serious points that could not adequately be covered by the planning service alone.

CALNI demand INI CEO demonstrates transparency on £30 million taxpayer bill for incinerator

Released 17th November, 2009

The Rose Energy Incinerator cannot go ahead without a multimillion pound taxpayers’ subsidy from Invest NI but local residents are being blocked from seeing the business plan and case work.

Demanding transparency from the Invest NI Chief Executive Alastair Hamilton, who will take into account the economic argument for the Incinerator, angry campaigners want the right to see all relevant information including the Ministerial Summary and all correspondence with Minister Foster and her office on this issue.

“We need this level of transparency to realise our legal right to make a full assessment of the economics of the proposal and to mount a meaningful objection on the facts,” explains CALNI Chairman Ray Clarke.

CALNI Newsletter No. 2 Published -
Saturday 31st October

A small army of volunteers gathered in Glenavy on a fine morning to distribute what seemed like a tonne of newsletters. We delivered then to houses in Glenavy, Crumlin, Nutts Corner, Ballinderry, Feumore and the like. If you did not receive a copy, click here to see it in all its glory.

Give power plant the chop, says chef Michael Deane

Friday, 25 September 2009

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is opposing plans for the power plant close to the shores of Lough Neagh.

In its response to plans by Rose Energy to extract millions of litres of water a day from the lough as a coolant, NITB said there was nothing in the project that could be viewed as a positive in helping develop the tourism product of the area.

CALNI release new community Newsletter

www.calni.com - Communities Against the Lough Neagh Incinerator