Court hears Edwin Poots had right to give go-ahead to gas storage project

The plans, greenlit in 2021, involve carving seven underground caverns by a method known as solution mining.

A former Stormont Minister was legally entitled to give the go-ahead for a major gas storage project off the Co Antrim coast, the High Court heard today.

Opponents claim the excavation process will lead to hypersaline salt and chemical solution being discharged into the sea in a protected marine area near Islandmagee creating a “dead zone” threatening marine life. The groups contended that Mr Poots failed to properly consider the environmental implications of a development proposal which is so significant, strategic, cross-cutting and controversial that he was legally required to refer it to the Executive Committee before granting permission.

“That’s a key change and it was done to prevent the Executive Committee referral point being weaponised to stall, disrupt and prevent decision-making in planning processes.”

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