Tamnaherin residents raise concern over planning proposal for incinerator

The planning permission is being sought by a vet who's father owns a property in the area. 

The objections mainly concern the environmental impact of the incinerator, but residents have also stated their frustration at the process of planning permission and the lack of communication with them regarding the matter.

They have launched a fundraiser via GoFundMe to pay for a contractor to support their argument against the proposal.

Caroline, who lives near the planned incinerator site said that she is concerned about pollutants coming from the incinerator as the area where it is proposed to be built, Highmoor Road, is often used by local families as a walking route. 

She is also concerned that the area has changed significantly since the application was first submitted in 2021, as a new school has been built within half a mile of the site. 

Caroline also said that communication has been poor from the beginning. 

“I live behind where they’re planning to build it. The initial application was put in, in 2021, and there were only seven neighbours notified in the neighbour notification process, and six of them objected to it. Nothing was heard after it, because once you have over five (objectors), it’s supposed to go to committee,” she said. 

“We got word very recently that it was up in May at the committee meeting and it was down to be passed, and none of us knew as we had no communication from 2021 until now. Now it’s gathered momentum in the local area as a new school has been built half a mile down the road, and there are a lot of people who walk along that road.”

Another resident, who requested anonymity, reiterated the concerns over pollutants resulting from the incinerator.

“As much as they can tell us it doesn’t give off much pollutants, that’s not the point. That’s not to say that down the line, that might not be the case, it might be used 24 hours a day. We’re just trying to get this incinerator refused, which is the main thing. There’s concerns over the new school being built, over increased traffic, plus the applicant doesn't even live in the area. I live about 300 metres away from the proposed site. It was set to be approved on 8th of May, only it had got a bit of momentum behind (the campaign opposing the proposal). Up to 6th of May, nobody was aware of it, only that there were seven people who objected to it.

“We didn’t really get much information on it, as far as I was told, it was our own fault that we didn’t apply to get information sent to us about it. I’m not familiar with planning, and neither is anyone else in the area. Maybe if I was an architect I could have been more familiar with it. 99.9% of people are opposed to this, it’s only the applicant and Alderman Guy that support it.”

The vet, Dr. Billy McCartney, who has proposed the incinerator to service his veterinary practice which is based on Duke Street in Derry city, is ‘perplexed’ by the push-back.

“From my perspective, I am perplexed at the current reaction to a three year old application, as it such a small machine. It is like a big fridge/freezer, with no emissions and no environmental impact, generating employment in the local area.” 

When asked how many people he would expect to employ to operate the equipment, Mr McCartney had failed to respond to the question at the time of publishing.

Local representative, UUP’s Alderman Darren Guy, who supported the initial proposal said that as with all planning proposals he had spoken with the vet who had filed the request to ensure the equipment was installed with all environmental factors considered, and was satisfied with what he was told so approved the plan. 

He said: “I always take everything on board and give everything a thought before going through with anything. I had used a service like this for our wee dog which had to be put down, and it was a case then that it had to be sent somewhere in Belfast before being brought back again.

“I received all the plans and read over the environmental impact plans and I felt they had taken enough steps to ensure that it was a safe process, there wouldn’t be any harm to the environment. The rate of burning capacity is quite small, it’s 30 kilograms per hour, and they reckon it would only be used between one and three times per month. It actually has a secondary chamber which retains and burns the excess gases which cuts down on any odour and contamination.

“I said to the vet ‘What if this becomes used more regularly?’ He explained that it actually is more financially viable to store the pets in a refrigerator and take care of the incineration once or twice a month rather than to use it regularly. 

“I can understand people’s concerns though, and people have to be given the right to confront this. Communication has been a massive problem, it has been very bad. I think the council is only learning that social media isn’t the most effective way to let people know. There’s a lot of elderly people that would need to be informed by letter drops, and it’s only been in the past few years that they’ve caught on to that.”