The Friends of Knock Iveagh have campaigned extensively over the last six months communicating with Planners, Councillors and the CEO of ABC Council, and with Historic Environment Division of Dept of Communities, and local politicians including councillors, MLAs and MPs. We have also had meetings with representatives from the DUP, Sinn Fein, and the SDLP, and we are very grateful for their time and support. We have also engaged the services of a top environmental lawyer and barrister.
Below is an excerpt from a letter sent by the Friends of Knock Iveagh to Councillors & Aldermen from ABC Council in February 2018 which attempts to explain some key legal points FYI: 'Over the past two months the public have observed extensive heavy construction work taking place at Knock Iveagh in spite of the numerous problems with the development (we understand that there are currently four live enforcement investigations taking place, and yet no enforcement notice or stop notice have been served). With this in mind, we invite you to take a few moments to read the following information relating to the Council’s responsibilities in discharging its planning duties. We are also excited to share some recent new discoveries about the site. Legal Responsibilities The Planning Department has broken the whole development into smaller parts and is dealing with each one separately. This is known as “project splitting”and is unlawful under both UK and European law. The Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland), which are supported and clarified by European case law strongly indicate that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should have been done on the development on account of it being a wind turbine greater than 15m tall in a landscape of historical, cultural and archaeological signficance. The law dictates that all associated works which are part of a wider wind turbine project must be included as part of a ‘whole project’ Environmental Impact Assessment. It requires that electrical work whose purpose is to facilitate the operation of a wind turbine must be evaluated under a ‘whole project’ principle and cannot be separated. The Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 is also very clear that in cases where the work forms part of “EIA Development” (i.e. development which requires an EIA), permitted development rights do not apply. We believe that ABC Planning Department has acted unlawfully by breaking the whole development down into smaller parts and dealing with each one separately, including by wrongly waving through some elements as permitted development. Failure to comply with EIA regulations is a matter which is taken seriously by the courts. The fact that works have reached such an advanced stage has no bearing on the requirement to do an EIA, or on the fact that the Council is subject to a duty to nullify the consequences of a breach of European law. Based on our understanding of the situation, the most straightforward and effective way for ABC Council to nullify the consequences of this breach of European and UK law is to immediately discontinue all Planning Permissions on the site. Our public bodies have been entrusted with the guardianship of our heritage on behalf of us all, and we would like you, as our elected representatives, to ensure that the Council operates both within the spirit as well as the letter of these laws. The legally binding European-wide Valletta Treaty requires us to“protect the archaeological heritage as a source of the European collective memory and as an instrument for historical and scientific study.” Article 5 includes a requirement “to ensure that environmental impact assessments and the resulting decisions involve full consideration of archaeological sites and their settings”. However, even our own local documents recognise the value and importance of sites of cultural and archaeological heritage exactly like Knock Iveagh. The Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Development Plan 2015, for example, states that our “archaeological heritage is finite and vulnerable and it is important that it be cherished and protected for future generations to enjoy as we do.” Attempting to project split in this way in not only unlawful, but the consequence of doing so is that our unique and irreplaceable heritage is damaged through weak administration and a lack of joined-up thinking. Exciting New Discoveries Knock Iveagh is drawing increasing amounts of attention from the wider archaeological community [further information removed, some pending publication] Tourism Potential We believe that Knock Iveagh contains enormous tourism potential which would provide significant benefits to the whole region. [section removed - see above] Conclusions There is compelling evidence for the cultural significance of Knock Iveagh, and while this is exciting for us as local people, these discoveries also highlight the devastating impact of the recent construction work. Knock Iveagh has now been shown to be a site not just of local significance, but of national importance and, as such, there is a moral as well as a legal duty to protect it for future generations. We ask you as an elected representative of the people in the ABC Council district to consider Knock Iveagh as our shared heritage, with importance that goes beyond electoral constituencies. We believe there is enormous tourism potential here which would provide significant benefits to the whole region. We are determined to tell the story of Knock Iveagh. We do not believe it is too late and we are committed to doing everything within our power to ensure that lawful processes are now followed. We urge you:
Yours sincerely, The Friends of Knock Iveagh' FYI: The Friends of Knock Iveagh believe that in addition to the above, European Treaties and Conventions which have been breached at Knock Iveagh include: Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (see above info re. project splitting) The Valetta Treaty (to do with archaeological consultation) The Aarhaus Convention (in respect of public engagement and access to justice) European Landscape Convention (in particular re. protecting culturally significant landscapes)
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AuthorThe Friends of Knock Iveagh Archives
September 2019
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