Council welcomes Court Ruling on BMAP

April 4, 2016

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council has welcomed the recent court ruling that the former Minister of the Environment, Mark Durkan, acted unilaterally and unlawfully in authorising the Belfast Metropolitan Plan (BMAP), without first seeking consent from his Executive colleagues.

This ruling was following a Judicial Review taken by the former Finance Minister, and now First Minster, Arlene Foster, in relation to the process carried out to endorse the latest edition of BMAP.

Under the current Plan, there would have been limited scope for development at Sprucefield, other than retail applications primarily focusing on bulky goods items, effectively vetoing other large scale planning applications.

There have been a number of planning applications submitted over the last decade in relation to Sprucefield, including a number which would have brought retail giant, John Lewis and its partners to the City.  The recent ruling may once again enable proper consideration to be given to a major retail offer opening at Sprucefield, something its many supporters have long campaigned for.

Lisburn City Council was a staunch supporter of bringing John Lewis to the City and with it hundreds of new jobs and tens of millions of pounds of investment, not just benefitting Lisburn but businesses and shoppers across Northern Ireland. Now Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council have agreed to write to the First Minister to thank her for her intervention in this process through her application for a judicial review.

Speaking at the recent Meeting of Council, Alderman William Leathem said that the ruling that BMAP’s introduction was unlawful would hopefully pave the way for an easing of planning restrictions in areas such as Sprucefield and the potential benefits for Northern Ireland could be immense.

“It is now time for common sense to prevail and hopefully decisions will be taken in future fairly and objectively for the betterment of all the people of NI.  The Council very much welcomes this judicial review decision and is optimistic that this will kick start an already incredibly long process, giving developers real opportunities to invest in Sprucefield and areas like it.  The Council would like to thank the First Minister and indeed all those involved throughout the years for their continued support and commitment to Sprucefield, “said Alderman Leathem.