The National Trust has urged the Northern Ireland Executive to include measures to give more protection to World Heritage Sites in planning legislation currently under consideration by the Assembly.
That call came after UNESCO published a report on the Giant’s Causeway which assessed the impact of the Runkerry Golf Resort development on Northern Ireland’s only World Heritage Site.
The report recommended that ‘the proposed golf resort development project…should not be permitted at its proposed scale and location in order to avoid adverse impact on the landscape setting and important views of the Giant’s Causeway’.
The director for the National Trust in Northern Ireland, Heather Thompson, said: ‘This report raises major concerns regarding the significant impact of the Runkerry Golf Resort on this special place. It also highlights serious gaps in the law regarding the protection offered to such sites in Northern Ireland.’
She added: ‘There is a short window of opportunity to act on this now, while the Planning Bill is making its way through the Assembly.’
Earlier this year the National Trust mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge to the process of planning approval for the proposed development.
Northern Ireland Environment Minister Alex Attwood was unapologetic about his decision to approve the golf development. He said: ‘My judgment and decision was subject to legal scrutiny. A judicial review was heard in the High Court. The judgment of the court was issued earlier this year. My decision was upheld by the court which rejected all 21 grounds of challenge made to my decision by the National Trust.
‘The planning decision therefore stands. It is lawful. I made the right decision measured against all planning requirements and against the high level of protection for the World Heritage Site given obligations under the UNESCO convention.’
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