A High Court challenge to a gold mine planned by Canadian company Dalradian Resources in Co Tyrone will be heard next week.
Greencastle, Rouskey and Gortin Concerned Community (GRG) were granted leave to seek a judicial review in March.
The residents group’s challenge centres around alleged failures by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) over how people in the area were consulted over the project.
The case is expected to be heard next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Dalradian, headed by Patrick FN Anderson, said its Sperrins project will support 350 jobs, with an average salary of £40,000, supporting a £750m supply chain spend over 25 years.
It’s expected to involve up to 1,500 tonnes of rock per day being processed in a large facility near Greencastle. But the use of cyanide in the process has proved controversial among people in the area.
Dalradian’s 10,000-page planning application, lodged in November 2017, is one of the biggest and most complex in the history of Northern Ireland.
GRG has argued that the pre-application community consultation process carried out by Dalradian was “vague and ambiguous”, and that the complexity of the scheme was such that it “confused impacted residents”.
To date, the live application has attracted 11,287 comments from members of the public on the DfI’s online planning service. Three-quarters of respondents have registered opposition, with just under 24% in support.
Martin Conway of GRG said: “Sadly, we believe that we were left with no choice other than to take this judicial review to challenge the department’s decision to determine the application valid, which in our view is clearly flawed.
“This judicial review is ground-breaking on many levels, but first and foremost it is on the basis that we believe significant flaws exist within Dalradian’s community consultation from start to finish, causing confusion to the local community.”
A Dalradian spokesman said: “As with all significant infrastructure projects, legal challenge was anticipated. Dalradian is taking part, as a notice party, in the judicial review proceedings against the decision by the DfI.
“The company has submitted evidence to the High Court and will make submissions at the hearing.”
This article originally appeared on Belfast Telegraph
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