The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Department for Infrastructure did not have lawful authority to grant planning permission for the proposed Hightown incinerator near Glengormley.
Planning permission for the £240m facility was approved by a Department for Infrastructure civil servant in 2017.
However the decision was overturned when the High Court indicated that the incinerator had not been lawfully authorised.
This morning’s ruling, that the department did not have power to act in the absence of a minister, may have implications throughout departments at Stormont.
Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist South Antrim MLA, Steve Aiken, has welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision.
“It supports the original court ruling that the Department for Infrastructure did not have lawful authority to grant planning approval and vindicates those who have campaigned against the incinerator,” he said.
Also welcoming the news is South Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney.
“This decision is another vindication and another victory for local democracy, campaigning residents and the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement.
“Approval should never have been granted for this facility in the first place given the widespread opposition and concerns over the safety of residents. The decision to appeal the original verdict was also wrong and it’s time that the Department started listening to the courts, local communities and political representatives,” he said.
Mr Kearney said he is calling on the Department of Infrastructure to accept this verdict and do the right thing by withdrawing its support for permission to proceed with this incinerator.
“The court was very clear that it would be contrary to the Good Friday Agreement for such a significant and controversial decision to be taken by departmental officials in the absence of an Executive.
“I very much welcome that as it again signals the importance of re-establishing the power-sharing institutions in a way that is consistent with the Good Friday Agreement.
“That means dealing with the equality and rights issues at the heart of the crisis and both governments fulfilling their responsibility as co guarantors of the GFA when the British Irish Governmental Conference finally meets later this month,” he added.
