Delays over Co Tyrone gold mine application ‘total disgrace’, says DUP leader

The lengthy delay over an application to mine gold in Co Tyrone is a “total disgrace”, DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said.

Mr Robinson criticised the “outrageous” hold ups around the Dalradian gold mine project as he expressed concerns that planning regulations in Northern Ireland were restricting opportunities for economic growth.

The East Belfast MP made the comments during a Northern Ireland Affairs Committee meeting focused on new and emerging economic sectors in the region.

Late last year, the US ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens warned that “unnecessary delays” over the mining application were “harming” Northern Ireland’s reputation.

The senior diplomat said “bureaucracy must not become a barrier to progress” in the region as he voiced concerns about the speed of planning decisions.

Dalradian, which is supported by US investment, wants to develop an underground gold, silver and copper mine on its Curraghinalt site near Greencastle in the Sperrin Mountains, where it has been working since 2009.

It says the proposed underground mine could create and support up to 1,000 jobs and add five billion dollars (£4.1 billion) to the Northern Ireland economy.

However, some opponents have raised concerns about the impact of the proposed mine on the environment and health.

A planning application was submitted in 2017 and a Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) inquiry was ordered by then infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon in 2020.

The probe opened for public hearings in Omagh last year, but on the third day of evidence it was suspended.

On Wednesday morning the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee heard evidence from Steven Norris, the deputy director of Regeneration and Infrastructure at Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council; Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon councillor Tim McClelland, who was representing the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA); and Alison McCullagh, the chief executive of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.

Local councils deal with the majority of planning applications in Northern Ireland, but major projects of regional significance are handled by Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure.

During the meeting, Mr Robinson asked the witnesses what changes were needed to planning processes to ensure they were not “inhibiting economic growth”.

“If we’re going to talk about economic growth, I think it’s impossible to avoid planning as an inhibitor to growth,” he said.

The DUP leader referenced the comments of Ambassador Stephens in November and said he shared the diplomat’s concerns on Dalradian.

“I think it’s outrageous at 17 years on there’s still no progress for Dalradian as but one example,” he said.

The MP added: “Seventeen years on, it’s a total disgrace that a decision hasn’t been made thus far.”

Mr Robinson claimed that a large salt mine near Carrickfergus, which currently provides salt for the whole of Northern Ireland, the western side of Scotland and the north-west of England, would not secure planning approval if an application was to be made in the present day.

Responding, Ms McCullagh said she did not want to go into the details of the Dalradian application, but said it was important to note that Fermanagh and Omagh District Council was officially opposed to the development.

She agreed with Mr Robinson that a decision needed to be made one way or the other.

“This is at a public inquiry stage (and) a decision needs to be taken obviously as a matter of urgency, to provide clarity for all views in relation to the project,” she said.

Ms McCullagh, who also leads on planning issues in her role at Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE NI), insisted improvements in the system were helping to speed up application processes across Northern Ireland.

“That work included a number of streamlining initiatives, a particular focus on statutory consultees and also around what we would call front loading of quality applications,” she told the committee.

“And it is making a difference. And certainly the most recent evidence that came out just prior to Christmas on these statistics would show that there has been some demonstrable improvement.”

Ms McCullagh said there were concerns about the length of time some statutory consultees took to respond to applications, citing particular issues with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

“So I think if a greater focus perhaps within NIEA could come to their responses that would very significantly address the backlog,” she said.