£100m golf resort ‘not a danger to Causeway’

Granting the long-sought planning permission for the 18-hole championship links course and five-star hotel complex on the spectacular sand dunes near Bushmills, Alex Attwood insisted extensive restrictions on the development would ensure the status of the popular nearby visitor attraction would not be adversely impacted.

Mr Attwood approved the application for the Bushmills Dunes Golf Resort and Spa in the face of fierce opposition from the National Trust, which owns the Giant’s Causeway – a Unesco World Heritage site.

Announcing the outcome of the 10-year bid for planning permission, Mr Attwood said he had carefully weighed the environmental implications against the potential economic and tourist benefits of the luxury development.

The complex, comprising the course, a 120-bedroom hotel, 75 villas and conference facilities, will employ around 360 people.

“I will not, and would not, do anything that compromises all the designations that exist in respect of these lands,” said Mr Attwood.

“I think that’s why the planning conditions have been so exhaustive and extensive.”

The resort, which is set to open in 2014, is just over a mile from the 38,000 hexagonal volcanic basalt columns that make up the Giant’s Causeway.

Mr Attwood, who faced tough questions from environmentalists at an event in Bushmills to announce the planning outcome, said his decision had been a demanding one and he had not taken it lightly.

He said he was prepared to fly to France to meet Unesco officials or host them in Northern Ireland if they wanted to raise any concerns about the move.

“I have acted with a high vigilance and challenging approach.

“I have carefully considered both sides of the argument but given the boost to tourism and the economy that the proposal will bring, I have decided to grant planning permission.

“To ensure that the environment is fully respected, my decision will be accompanied by stringent conditions which will mitigate the impacts of the development on the ecology of the site and the local landscape.”

Friends of the Earth was one of the groups which voiced opposition during yesterday’s announcement in Bushmills Inn hotel.

The organisation’s Northern Ireland director, James Orr, said “the landscape around the Giant’s Causeway should be protected. Instead, a form of landscape trauma is being permitted at Northern Ireland’s only World Heritage Site. It’s like building a drive-through burger bar at the Taj Mahal”.

“The precedent set today is that our planning system still cannot protect our most special places.”