Lagan Valley Westminster Candidates Demand a Public Inquiry OR Outright Refusal on Incinerator

In an historic public meeting at Lagan Valley Civic Centre all the Westminster Candidates demanded a public inquiry and most said that the planning application for the chicken litter Incinerator proposed for Lough Neagh should be refused permission outright.

Sitting MP, Jeffrey Donaldson told over 100 voters attending the meeting that his support had not wavered from the start of the campaign and he announced that his South Antrim colleague William McCrea is also backing a public inquiry and that they were actively lobbying their DUP colleague Edwin Poots the Minister for the Environment.

Conservative and Unionist candidate Daphne Trimble, who was new to the Incinerator issue said that while half a million tonnes of chicken litter had to be dealt with urgently the answer did not lie with Rose Energy.

Paul Butler the Sinn Fein Councillor and Assembly Member said that his support for residents was backed by his colleague Michelle Gildernew the Minister for Agriculture and that his party was not only opposed to the Rose Energy application but any form of incineration as a response to our waste disposal needs.

SDLP candidate Brian Heading said that while his party was fully supportive of renewable energy this was not the way to produce it and sounded the alarm bells that if this incinerator was passed it would pave the way for a string of incinerators around Lough Neagh.

Trevor Lunn of the Alliance Party said that if a public inquiry could be called for the sake of a couple of hundred yards of runway at Belfast City Airport, then it had to be called for the Incinerator if permission was not refused outright.

He went on to praise the local residents who have been steadfast in their determination over the last two years in a campaign that had never run out of steam.

During a lively question and answer session all candidates agreed that £30million pounds of public money was simply not available for a project producing 30 jobs and said it was vital that local government departments put resources into researching modern alternatives to incineration for the poultry industry.

Ray Clarke, Chairman of CALNI said after the meeting that he was heartened by the overwhelming cross party support for the campaign.

“It comes down to one thing, no one can understand why such a monstrosity is even being considered for the shore of Lough Neagh. We gave all candidates a beautiful photograph of the site to remind them of the environment and heritage Rose Energy wants to take from the whole of Northern Ireland.

“This fight will go on and Edwin Poots as a local councillor, MLA and Government Minister cannot fail to respond to the will of 7000 objectors. This is not just an issue for this election but will be an issue for every election until this incinerator is rejected.”