Here are some of the main reasons why this application should be rejected: Health Incinerators are a known source of harmful and persistent pollutants, many of which are bio accumulators that have well documented links to a range of respiratory, cardiovascular, reproductive and immune system related illnesses. Agriculture & Fisheries The development is proposed in a location surrounded by lands used for grazing livestock and cultivating crops. As above, given the potential emissions there are serious concerns about the potential impact on animal health and the food chain, especially considering the proposal to handle medical and veterinary waste. The proposed site is located in the Blackwater valley close to the Blackwater River - a popular angling resource that outfalls to Lough Neagh. Natural & Built Heritage The site is in an area with a rich biodiversity and historical heritage: close to Milltown & Benburb local wildlife sites; Benburb village; Milltown Valley Heritage Centre; Ulster Canal; Benburb Priory & Castle; and the Battle of Benburb battle site. Economics The development has the potential to adversely impact: property valuations; future residential planning; and the well-established agricultural economy and tourism potential in the area. Traffic The site can only be accessed via single lane roads that are already in poor condition and busier than ever before. Development would increase the pressure on the traffic infrastructure and related road safety. Nuisance The proposed 24/7 operation presents potential risk to the health and well-being of local residents due to noise, vibration, stress, as well as odour and vermin commonly associated with such installations.    Further information can be viewed at: Website: www.raincampaign.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/rainbenburb Instagram: www.instagram.com/rain_campaign

Sand dredging is killing Lough Neagh. First-of-its-kind research linked commercial sand dredging of Lough Neagh to the toxic blue-green algae blooms, habitat destruction and more. This kind of mining causes irreversible damage to the Loughs' precious ecosystem. Meanwhile, dredging and construction companies are profiting from Lough Neagh’s destruction.  And the Earl of Shaftesbury - owner of the Lough’s bed and banks - earns a royalty fee for every tonne of sand the companies extract. When the SDLP minister ignored environmentalists and legalised dredging in 2020, they argued that legalising would be benecifial, however recent news has shown gross violations far beyond limits. The more these companies mine Lough Neagh for sand, the more this damage multiplies, and with the Shaftesbury Estate having a contract with the mining industry up until 2046, this could go on for decades more.  Stormont has acted on mining before. Earlier this year, it passed legislation banning filthy fracking - only because of relentless pressure from people and grassroots group. We call on Infrastructure Minister to ban sand dredging today. Demands for an independent enquiry into the effects of sand dredging have been ignored. Studies have identified deep scars, including 17 metre cavities and long-term disruption to sediment systems, which can release stored nutrients, potentially exacerbating algal blooms. We reiterate our campaign demands for a moratorium on extraction of our finite glacial sand in Lough Neagh. 🚨 Join the March for Lough Neagh, Sunday May 17th, 12:30pm, The Battery Bar to Ardboe High Cross!! 🚨 And join the Film Festival & Conference in Lurgan the weekend beforehand saveloughneagh.com

I don't think we should be showing support for Donald Trump. I would like the golfing community to try and get the DP World Tour to move the event to somewhere else.

Peatlands must come first. Northern Ireland should introduce an immediate moratorium on industrial-scale development on peatlands until a comprehensive assessment and mapping programme has been completed and robust protections are in place. Peatlands are vital natural allies in the fight against climate change. They are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth, storing carbon that has accumulated over thousands of years. Although they cover only 3% of the world’s land surface, they store more carbon than all the world’s forests combined. When peatlands are drained, excavated, or disturbed, they can release this stored carbon and become a source of emissions rather than a natural climate solution. All peatlands should be protected, whether they are pristine, damaged, degraded, or in recovery. Degradation should not be used as a justification for further destruction. Instead, damaged peatlands should be restored wherever possible, recognising their importance for biodiversity, water quality, flood management, archaeology, and climate resilience. Developers should not be permitted to rely on mitigation, compensation, restoration proposals, peat reuse, or biodiversity offsetting to justify development on peatlands. Once peatland is disturbed, its ecological, hydrological, and carbon storage functions can be permanently altered, and replacement cannot replicate what has been lost. Peatlands are not vacant land waiting for development, they are living ecosystems that have taken thousands of years to form and are part of Northern Ireland’s natural heritage. The presumption should always be protection and restoration, not industrialisation. Northern Ireland’s peatlands are ancient, irreplaceable, and essential. They must be assessed, protected, and restored for future generations, not sacrificed for short-term development.

Under the current leadership team, our council has presided over a series of costly failures that demonstrate fundamental governance breakdown: The Mourne Gateway Project • Initial proposal for Slieve Donard rejected by National Trust due to environmental concerns and failure to properly engage with public • Announcement of intention to relocate project to Kilbroney Forest Park made without public consultation or formal approval from elected representatives •  Repetition of fundamental governance errors; e.g., failing to obtain landowner permission before making public announcements or committing budgets • Wasting at least £1.35m on failed attempts, and putting £30m of funding from Belfast Region City Deal at risk • Newry and Downpatrick Flood Response • Inadequate preparation despite known flood risks • Delayed and insufficient emergency response to affected residents and businesses • Failure to distribute financial support to flood victims • No evidence of lessons learned or improved emergency protocols Newry Civic Hub • Ongoing cost overruns beyond initial budgets • Submission of incorrect planning applications by the Council as planning authority • Use of confidential legal advice to bypass public scrutiny • Inability to demonstrate value-for-money or explain site selection process • Repeated dismissal of public concerns, including over 2,600 letters of objection Warrenpoint Port  • Multi-year failure to address documented public health nuisance • Inability to enforce existing environmental regulations • Ongoing impact on residents' quality of life without resolution These project failures are not isolated incidents but evidence of systemic problems within our council, namely: • Lack of Transparency: Routine use of "confidential" designations to avoid public accountability • Inadequate or Non-Existent Community Engagement: Major decisions announced without meaningful consultation or recognition of ratepayers’ needs • Poor Financial Management: Millions squandered on unviable projects without adequate due diligence • Disregard for Expert Advice: Proceeding with projects despite widely documented environmental, technical and governance concerns The current council leadership has demonstrably failed in their duty to manage public resources responsibly and serve community interests. We therefore call upon the councillors of Newry, Mourne and Down to: • Pass a vote of no confidence in the council leadership • Establish an independent investigation into council governance failures, with the final report being made available to the public • Implement urgent transparency measures to prevent future abuse of confidential procedures The time for excuses has passed. We demand action now.

In October 2024, Derry City & Strabane District Council approved planning permission for the North’s first AI hyperscale data centre at Foyle Port, with outline permission granted for three more. We now know that AI data centres can carry enormous environmental costs. Yet the Northern Ireland Executive is calling for the expansion of data centres across Northern Ireland. Hyperscale data centres place huge demands on electricity and water. They require enormous amounts of energy to operate and vast amounts of cooling, either consuming millions of litres of water or requiring even more electricity or both. There is also a connection application for a massive 300MW data centre at Kilroot. These developments are being driven by some of the world’s wealthiest technology corporations, including Amazon, Google and Meta. Northern Ireland should not be expected to sacrifice its water, energy security, environment and jobs to meet the ever growing demands of multinational tech companies. There is also a serious risk that the expansion of AI data centres will increase emissions and prolong dependence on fossil fuels. These centres operate 24/7 and require a constant, reliable supply of electricity. At the same time, growing electricity demand is being used to justify bringing in more large scale wind developments in our designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, causing further damage to landscapes and communities. The Northern Ireland Executive has now published an AI Strategy, which is open for consultation until 7 October. It states: “Our natural resources could establish us as a pioneer in green data centre provision, and with that a magnet for foreign direct investment.” The Executive is also using high levels of wind curtailment as an argument for attracting huge new data centres to consume this electricity. But the answer to a failing or constrained grid is not to create enormous new sources of electricity demand. If large amounts of renewable electricity are being wasted, then we should be addressing the reasons why, i.e. grid constraints, where generation is being built, transmission capacity and how our electricity system operates. We should not use those failures as justification for bringing in energy hungry hyperscale data centres. Northern Ireland needs to decide what its limited energy and water resources are actually for. Are they for homes, communities, public services and sustainable local industry, or for AI hyperscale data centres? We are therefore demanding an immediate review of the planning and approval process for data centre developments in Northern Ireland, a comprehensive public consultation on their cumulative impact on energy, water, emissions, infrastructure and the environment, and a ban on any more data centre approvals. Our water and energy security are more important than feeding the limitless appetite of billionaire tech corporations. https://www.savethemoat.com/blog-post

The Public Inquiry into the proposed goldmine in the Sperrins was suspended on the 15th January 2025  because the Department for Infrastructure breached their planning regulations in respect of a Transboundary Consultation with the Republic of Ireland.  The Commissioner said “the Inquiry has been besieged with difficulties from the start - in relation to Abstraction licences, EIA Regulations & Roads department didn’t engage at all….The planning department of Department for Infrastructure failed to follow its own legislative procedures. I have no option but to accede to the request to suspend the Inquiry, in view of Access to Justice and Right to Participate.” With no live stream, nor access to online recording or an option to contribute remotely as an expert witness, this inquiry has been anything but public. As a result, many people cannot properly engage with the inquiry because they cannot be present every day due to work commitments, illness, childcare or other caring responsibilities. Compounding this exclusion, adults are not permitted to bring children into the public inquiry in order to attend. Given that women are, in general, the primary caregivers of young children, this restriction disproportionately affects them and smacks of misogyny. All Public Inquiries in England are recorded and available online for 5 years. Why is this not the case here? A precedent was set at the Doraville Inquiry (2019) in N.I. when expert witnesses were allowed to contribute online. When the goldmine inquiry resumes, we demand that the Planning Appeals Commission implement the aforementioned measures. 

The genocide in Gaza has been livestreamed to the world since October 7 2023. Conservative estimates put the number of people killed as approx. 68,000 (recent figures published by The Lancet) with over 100,000 maimed and injured. Every step of this genocide has been funded and supported by the United States. Our governments have paid lip service rather than take any meaningful action against Israel. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is guilty of committing plausible genocide in Gaza. Israel has displayed intent in the words of its government officials, in its deliberate denial of humanitarian aid, food, preventing safe births to mention a few. In 2024 our petition to Boycott the White House St Patrick's Day Celebrations got more than 20,000 signatures. The pressure we put on politicians not to go resulted in several prominent politicians not going, as well as protests in Ireland and the US against the betrayal. This year we have an opportunity to build on this. Through constant lobbying and pressure, Ireland is now a party to the case South Africa is taking against Israel in the International Courts of Justice. People pressure also forced Israel to close its embassy in Ireland. We call on all political parties on the island of Ireland to listen to the people and not go to Washington on St. Patrick's Day to shake hands soaked with the blood of Palestinians. Petition endorsed by: Derry IPSC Mid Ulster IPSC Cairde Palestine Gaels Against Genocide Mothers Against Genocide QUB Palestine Assembly Artists Against Genocide Teachers for Palestine Fermoy IPSC D7 For Palestine Lurgan IPSC Minority teachers Ireland Louth IPSC The People of Clare Against Genocide BadAds  Hcworkers for Palestine Derry Anti-War Coalition Swords For Palestine United Against Racism NW BDS Strabane NYirish4palestine Newry IPSC South Kerry Friends Of Palestine East Derry IPSC Armagh IPSC ATU Friends of Palestine 

Filthy mining corporation Dalradian is fighting to be able to rip up our stunning Sperrin Mountains, pollute our waters, and damage our health - so they can get rich by mining for gold. After 50,000 written objections, over a decade of tireless campaigning and numerous legal interventions, Save Our Sperrins have taken their fight to a landmark public inquiry that will decide if the mine will go ahead. As Save Our Sperrins says: “The inquiry is a rare opportunity for all of us to come together and have our voices heard. Together, we can stand for what truly matters.” They’ve been fighting for years, and now we stand with them. No toxic mining in Sperrins!