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Hotline to the Hills
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Our cards carrying the environmental pollution hotline number, with useful contact numbers for local councils, have prompted lots of feedback from concerned people living and using the Belfast Hills. To report all environmental pollution incidents, call the environmental pollution hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Alternatively contact the Partnership. | |
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Landfill
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| Landfill in Northern Ireland is currently in a state of flux. Firstly Waste Management Licences, formerly issued by councils, were transferred to the Environment and Heritage Service a few years ago. Secondly, Waste Management Licenses are being replaced by PPC (Pollution, Prevention and Control) permits. These new regulations are aimed at bringing in tighter controls. |
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Partnership calls for independent health study at ‘superdump’
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More that a year has passed since general municipal waste began to be legally landfilled in the Belfast Hills. Having won waste contracts from arc21, the body which handles waste management for the 11 councils in the east of the province, sites at Mullaghglass and Cottonmount are now landfilling at a rate of roughly 300,000 tonnes of our ‘black bin’ waste per year. | |
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Illegal Landfill (dumping and flytipping)
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| There are two areas of deep concern to the Partnership. Firstly illegal landfill in the Belfast Hills, and secondly flytipping.In the past, there has been a lot of concern about the perceived lack of teeth in terms of monitoring and enforcement at illegal dumping sites within the Belfast Hills. |
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Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan
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The Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan (BMAP) is a development plan for a large area of Northern Ireland dealing with areas of housing, employment, environment and transport for the next generation. | |
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Planning
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| The Belfast Hills Partnership reviews the planning applications within its operational boundary on a weekly basis and under the direction of its Board of Directors responds appropriately. |
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Arc21
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Last year the NI Waste Management Strategy was created and a plan produced.This consisted of complex and technical documents, which the Partnership responded to in the consultation process.
This strategy will decide how Northern Ireland will manage its waste with direct concern and issues for the Belfast Hills. | |
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Traffic
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| Waste, quarrying, housing and their resulting traffic are some of the driving issues faced when it comes to the impact on roads that serve the Belfast Hills. These roads are not built for these high levels of traffic especially vehicles carrying heavy tonneage. |
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What are our MPs doing to protect the Belfast Hills?
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 Rt Hon Jeffrey Donaldson, MP, MLA expresses his opposition to landfill in the Belfast Hills and demands a moritorium on further development of landfill sites."Since the Mullaghglass landfill site opened, local residents have complained about an infestation of flies, a marked increase in the rat population in the area, foul smells, excessive litter and pollution of the atmosphere with chemicals used in the waste disposal process.....What we don’t know is the hidden cost and long-term legacy of any environmental pollution that may leach into the water table beneath the hills. What price will the next generation pay for the expediency that this large landfill site represents."
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