'Whilst calls for me to 'give it back' continue, the question remains: to whom?'
Lord Shaftesbury says the Shaftesbury Estate of Lough Neagh has made £245,918 profit since 2013, including profits from sand dredging of the lake bed.
The substack, in which he hit out at what he called "irresponsible misinformation regarding sand extraction and the ownership of the bed and soil of Lough Neagh", he says he believes he has "been used as a scapegoat for issues concerning the lough". Companies have been extracting sand from Lough Neagh for almost 90 years and without any planning permission until 2021, following an almost decade-long campaign led by Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland.
The blue-green algae blighting Lough Neagh is largely caused by pollution from farms and sewage and warmer temperatures from the climate crisis. Joanna Bury from Extinction Rebellion Wimborne in East Dorset told us at the time: "Our demands are that we stop sand extraction immediately and allow public ownership of Lough Neagh."
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Earl of Shaftesbury would like to transfer Lough Neagh ownershipThe Earl of Shaftesbury says he would transfer ownership 'into a charity or community trust model'.
Read more »
Lough Neagh action plan due before Executive next weekBelfast Live understands the document is based around four pillars
Read more »
Lough Neagh: Environmental issues need 'significant investment'The report was commissioned after blue-green algae bloomed at unprecedented levels last year.
Read more »
The Earth's Corr: DUP ministers holding back plan to 'fix' Lough NeaghIt seems Andrew Muir’s bid to improve the NI environment with a range of measures including tougher penalties for polluters is being held up by one party
Read more »
Lough Neagh blue-green algae spread now visible from the skyThe police helicopter captured an image showing how algae has spread across Lough Neagh but the executive is yet to agree actions to tackle it
Read more »
Andrew Muir to request use of 'urgent procedure' to approve Lough Neagh planHe says 'time is not on our side' and he is 'very disappointed it looks unlikely there will be an Executive meeting this Thursday'
Read more »