1

Size

At 153 hectares – about the size of 220 football pitches – the old works and quarry is the largest previously-used site in Northern Ireland awaiting redevelopment. According to Environment and Heritage Service’s Landscape Classification Assessment, the site is the largest ‘degraded’ area of land in the Province.

2

Complexity

There can be few, if any, occasions on which such a variety of uses has been planned for one site. Putting these uses together has been a complex process, but the broad range of benefits that will flow from it are considerable.

3

Eco-friendly living

Our proposal for a harbour village in which residents seek to limit their use of the earth’s resources to only their fair share of those resources are aimed at establishing Magheramorne as the ‘greenest’ example of large scale new development in Ireland, possibly in all of the British Isles.

4

Corporate Social Responsibility

Our proposals are not driven by a desire to make money for the company. Our main aim is to leave a lasting beneficial legacy – a ‘thank you’ – to the local community that has done so much to support the cement works over the many years in which it was in operation.

In practice, this means the company is prepared to forego as much of the enhanced land value that would result from the granting of planning permission for the housing element of the proposal as is necessary to help establish the non-commercial uses that are also proposed (like the World Cycling Centre and the ecological areas and facilities). Foregone profits could also be diverted to help fund additional costs associated with setting up the eco-friendly harbour village.

This is our Corporate Social Responsibility Policy put very visibly into action.

5

Public Engagement

It was way back in February 2002 that work began on evolving ideas that led to the proposals now contained in our planning application. Over that time, there has been ongoing discussion with local groups, Larne Borough Council and many other organisations. Our planning consultants tell us that the level of pre-application consultation has been unprecedented in their experience.

Also unprecedented, we believe, is the level of public support for the proposals that has resulted from close liaison with the local community. This has been overwhelming – to the extent that members of the public have chosen to write letters of support to Planning Service way in advance of our application even being submitted!

6

Planning Policy

Our proposal is so different to the norm that the Larne Area Plan, prepared during the mid 90s, could never have foreseen it happening. The Area Plan does not therefore allocate the site for the uses we are now proposing.

Fortunately, the Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland, published more recently, realises that such eventualities could occur. It says that major, unforeseen proposals from the private sector can be supported in such circumstances where they are imaginative, original, in the public interest and of potential benefit throughout Northern Ireland – just what we believe our proposals for Magheramorne to be.

This provision in the Regional Development Strategy is the primary thrust of our planning case for approval of our application. It is the first time, we believe, that this provision has been brought into play.