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Magheramorne Quarry, Co Antrim, 33 ha
2 April 2004
Common tern
Image: Steve Round
The site: Magheramorne Quarry lies adjacent to
Larne Lough SPA. At the time of the case, Larne Lough was not fully
designated, but Swan Island, in Larne Lough, was a fully designated
SPA for its breeding Annex I roseate, Sandwich and common tern
populations. Larne Lough pSPA was proposed as an SPA for its
internationally important wintering population of pale-bellied
brent goose.
The proposal: The proposal was to fill the
disused Magheramorne Quarry with waste from Belfast and surrounding
boroughs for a 30-year period. Up to 300,000 tonnes of waste would
be dumped at the site each year.
The objection: The RSPB objected to the
proposal due to possible adverse effects on the Swan Island SPA and
Larne Lough pSPA. The Department for the Environment (NI)
subsequently called in the proposal. At inquiry, the key
conservation issues centred around whether leachate from the waste
site would have an adverse impact on the feeding waterfowl on the
Lough intertidal area, and whether gulls attracted to the waste
site would disrupt the breeding tern colonies on Swan Island
through predation and disturbance. Both would lead to an adverse
effect on the integrity of the SPA.
The outcome: The Department of the Environment
(NI) refused planning permission for the waste site due to a
probable adverse effect on the integrity of the SPA, with no
demonstration of alternatives and no imperative reasons of
overriding public interest.