Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will order a public inquiry into the application for an abbatoir at Saintfield Livestock Market; and if she will commission an environmental impact statement in accordance with the Environmental Effects Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989. [2017]
Mr. MurphyResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Planning Service under its Chief Executive, Mr. T. W. Stewart. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from T. W. Stewart to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 6 June 1997:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about a Public Inquiry and the commissioning of an environmental impact statement in relation to a planning application for an abbatoir at Saintfield Livestock Mart.This planning application, which was received in April 1997, has been the subject of a large number of objections. The Department determined that the proposal fell within the scope of Category 7(f) of Schedule 2 of the Environmental Effects Regulations (NI) 1989 and the applicant was requested to submit an Environmental Statement on 2 May 1997. The applicant had until 30 May 1997 to confirm acceptance or appeal against this determination. There has been no appeal lodged and the applicant must now either submit the Environmental Statement or withdraw the application.If an Environmental Statement is submitted it will be publicly advertised and all interested parties will have an opportunity to make representations. A decision on the way forward, including the need for a Public Inquiry, can only be taken once the Environmental Statement has been received and the consultative responses have been fully considered. It is unlikely that any decision on the need for a Public Inquiry will be taken until Autumn 1997, at the earliest.I do hope you find this helpful and I will, of course, let you know once a decision on the way forward has been taken.