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1,000 signatures reached
To: McCann Bros & Mid Ulster District Council
Stop Peat Removal at Lough Neagh
Peatland are of huge importance to our planet and must be left in the ground. The proposed peat extraction at Ferry Road, Coalisland must be stopped.
Why is this important?
McCann Bros are consulting on their proposals to carry out peat extraction on the shores of Lough Neagh. This should be stopped because:
- This beautiful bogland is a finite resource, vital for wildlife and as a carbon sink. Contrary to the consultation the extraction will not be 'temporary' and to say so is a gross misrepresentation of the application. You cannot temporarily dig out a bog – when its gone its gone.
- The proposal flies in the face of the Strategic Planning Policy Statement which protects peatlands.
- This peatland is within an Area of Constraint on Minerals and within the Lough Neagh Ramsar site which means it is a wetland of international importance – this rich nature reserve should not and cannot be mined for horticultural peat that no gardener needs.
- A two week consultation that finishes on New Years Eve at a time of Christmas and Covid is a cynical abuse of the planning system.
- This beautiful bogland is a finite resource, vital for wildlife and as a carbon sink. Contrary to the consultation the extraction will not be 'temporary' and to say so is a gross misrepresentation of the application. You cannot temporarily dig out a bog – when its gone its gone.
- The proposal flies in the face of the Strategic Planning Policy Statement which protects peatlands.
- This peatland is within an Area of Constraint on Minerals and within the Lough Neagh Ramsar site which means it is a wetland of international importance – this rich nature reserve should not and cannot be mined for horticultural peat that no gardener needs.
- A two week consultation that finishes on New Years Eve at a time of Christmas and Covid is a cynical abuse of the planning system.