Planning Application Progress
Update at 23 May 2008

By mid June 2007, although most of the consultees had provided comments on our Environmental Statement to Planning Service, we still had no real comfort on whether they agreed with our analysis of the planning policy context within which we were seeking our permission.  In discussions with Planning Service it became clear that the views of the Department for Regional Development’s Regional Planning and Transportation Team – custodians of the Regional Development Strategy, the planning document at the heart of our argument – would be critical to the Planning Service decision.  It was also clear that in the absence of any comfort from Planning Service, we could not commit the resources necessary to provide the additional information on technical matters which would be required – the uncertainty meant that the risk was simply too great.
 
To expedite the issue, we met with the DRD Team on site and in the office and, with the help of Sammy Wilson, also had a high level political meeting at Stormont with Conor Murphy – Minister for Regional Development – which resulted in him backing the project, both on a visit to Larne Borough Council in November 2007 and, through his officials, in the official consultation response to Planning Service which supported our views on how, when considered in the round,  the scheme is so beneficial, unforeseen and imaginative that it is in the public interest to approve it – even though the harbour village would not ordinarily have been permissible had it been promoted on its own.  This response secured, we had a follow up meeting with Planning Service who confirmed that in light of the DRD consultation, they could support the scheme at the highest level - providing us with the comfort that we need to get on with the additional technical analysis necessary to get sign off from the consultees.
 
We have been working on the issues raised by the consultees since January.  Our consultants are currently nearing the end of a fresh round of meetings with the various consultees aimed at ensuring the required Addendum to the Environmental Statement is submitted to Planning Service by the end of June.  The Addendum will mainly deal with ecological issues but will also touch on services, ground conditions and access.  The document will be publicly advertised and we will make it available locally and on this web site.  Once it has been lodged with Planning Service we hope to work with them to secure outline planning permission by the end of the year at the very latest.
 
Our thoughts are also turning to what the harbour village might look like.  We intend to hold a technical workshop on site in June with a view to taking the design beyond the current masterplan stage. This is the first step towards the preparation of the type of detail necessary to allow detailed approvals and facilitate an early start to this part of the scheme which is so important in funding the delivery of all of the other non commercial elements.  
 
Thank you for your continued support.  We believe the broad consensus on Magheramorne has been an important factor in bringing us to this position.