Work on a €115 million golf development near the Giant’s Causeway can now begin, the High Court in Belfast has ruled.
The court rejected a case taken by the National Trust which opposes the plans for a championship links, top-flight hotel, spa and other tourist amenities at Runkerry near the world heritage site in Co Antrim.
The trust is considering its next move after the judicial review rejected its case, while Stormont ministers from across the political divide have welcomed the findings.
Advantages
Minister for the Environment Alex Attwood (SDLP) and his Executive colleague Minister for Industry Arlene Foster, said the decision to allow the development would have untold advantages for the Northern economy into the long term.
Mr Justice Weatherup said legislation binding in Northern Ireland and not standards referred to in international law, such as those laid down by Unesco, had to take precedence. He said Mr Attwood’s department had properly considered the impact the 365-acre golf resort could have on the local economy, the environment and on the world heritage site at the Giant’s Causeway.
Rejected concerns
“I must not grant to citizens of the state a right that only exists in international law, if it exists at all,” he told the court.
He systematically rejected concerns raised by the National Trust but conceded the organisation was warranted in its decision to take the case and he said he was not minded at this stage to make a ruling in relation to costs.
Dr Alistair Hanna, a backer of the proposals, said the Runkerry resort and spa would be one of the “most spectacular golf developments ever seen in Ireland”.