Ongoing Issues in the Belfast Hills
The Belfast Hills face a wide range of ongoing issues and problems. Landfill, planning, illegal dumping, litter, dog fouling, fires and pollution are of enormous concern to us all.
The Belfast Hills Partnership is confident that these can be addressed with the right support. We strive to:
- increase people’s appreciation of the value of the Belfast Hills
- plan and carry out work programmes to protect and enhance biodiversity on the hills
- help people enjoy the hills through a range of well-managed public sites
- improve the quality of life for local people
- promote sustainable local agriculture and industry
With sustainable management, the Belfast Hills can improve and undergo a renaissance of interest and development for the benefit of all. Find out more about the various issues in the Hills and what you can do to play your part in tackling these issues.
Illegal landfill and fly-tipping in the Belfast Hills are two areas of deep concern to the Partnership. There has been a lot of concern in the past about the perceived lack of teeth in terms of monitoring and enforcement at illegal dumping sites within the Belfast Hills.
A slight improvement on the issue of illegal landfill appears to have been created through fines imposed for those who flout regulations. Nevertheless, the wheels of justice seem to grind slowly for those directly affected by illegal landfill sites. Questions are often asked as to why, if a certain site is illegal, the authorities don’t shut it down rather than the environment and those affected by illegal landfill having to wait months and years before a final court prosecution and action.
The Partnership and legal waste management operators have been continually voicing concerns over the need for urgent action to prevent the environment and residents living near such sites being blighted.
Fly-tipping is also an historical issue in our local hills whereby people take refuse and simply dump it regardless of the farmer, road user, walker or wildlife it will affect. Fly-tippers are not regarded as the most clever of characters as most of the types of waste they dump can be disposed of for free in council amenity and recycling centres.
We all have a part to play in putting a stop to this irresponsible and dangerous behaviour and this is where reporting is vital to stop these highly damaging practices in the Hills.
Report fly-tipping incidents:
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
- 028 9446 3113
- Report online via the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council website
Belfast City Council
- 028 9032 0202
- Report online via the Belfast City Council website
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council
- 028 9244 7300
- If you live in the Lisburn and Castlereagh Council area you can also report via the ReportAll App. To download ReportAll go to the ‘App Store’ for iPhone users or the ‘Play Store’ for Android users. Search for ‘ReportAll’ by RH Environmental and tap ‘Get’ or ‘Install’ to download the app.
Major illegal dumping of lorry loads of waste does happen in the hills and should be reported to NIEA Environmental Crime on 0800 80 70 60
To report all environmental pollution incidents, call the NIEA Environmental Pollution hotline on 0800 80 70 60. These reporting channels are vital to safeguard the hills and maintain vigilance on major ongoing issues.
So use the hotline or get in touch with us at 028 9060 3466 (office hours only) or [email protected].
We appeal to anyone who sees a fire to report it immediately by calling 999
IF YOU SEE A WILDFIRE IN THE HILLS – THE DO’s & DON’TS
DO | phone 999 and ask for fire; tell them where the fire is as best you can |
DON’T | ever tackle a fire yourself |
DO | get away from the scene of the fire as flames can spread quickly |
DO | phone 999 if you see people setting/lighting fires – ask for both fire and police and report what you have seen |
DO | keep your distance from recently burned sites |
DO | stay away – summer fires in particular can flare up again when you think they are out |
DO | help by keeping an eye on the site and reporting any re-ignition as soon as possible |
DON’T | hesitate to dial 999 even if you are at the other side of Belfast – you may be the first to have seen that fire |
DO | keep clear of gateways when parking in the hills |
DON’T | park where you may block fire appliances or emergency vehicles |
Impact of fires on safety and wildlife
Human safety is vital and it only takes the wind to change for either the people starting these fires or an innocent hill user, to be caught up or disorientated because of the smoke.
Red grouse, stonechat, skylark, snipe and other upland breeding birds live in the Belfast Hills, while peregrine falcons and ravens feed on the mountain environments. Our only species in Ireland of – the common lizard – also lives in the hills. Fire can destroy these wildlife populations and wipe out nests and habitat.
The effect of malicious fires is also extremely serious for soil erosion and water draining off the hills. This could lead to flooding in communities below the hills in the long term.
We commend the work of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and PSNI in putting out these dangerous fires. Remember, when the fire brigade are out on the hills tackling blazes, there may be less resources for fire emergencies among residential communities that could lead to needless loss of life.
As soon as you see a fire in the hills simply report it by phoning 999 and asking for the Fire Service. Don’t think that somebody else has reported it – every call is appreciated and may provide more information.
If you would like some fire cards, just call 028 9060 3466 (office hours only) or email us at [email protected].
Landfill in Northern Ireland is currently in a state of flux. Waste management licences, formerly issued by councils, were transferred to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency NIEA) in 2003. Waste management licenses have been replaced by PPC (Pollution, Prevention and Control) permits. These new regulations were aimed at bringing in tighter controls.
In a 2005 report commissioned by the Belfast Hills Partnership, the North of Ireland had over 100 licensed landfills, 38 of which were located in Belfast. Some 15 licensed landfills were found within the Belfast Hills Partnership’s operational boundary (excluding Cottonmount, Aughrim and Mullaghglass). When compared to similar locations on the edge of Dublin, for example, there were significantly higher levels of waste activity in the Belfast Hills than the Wicklow and Dublin Mountains. In Co Dublin there were five licensed landfill sites and to the north, Fingal County Council had two waste facilities. After licence permits were issued for Mullaghglass, Aughrim and Cottonmount treatment facilities (Cottonmount is approx 2km outside the Belfast Hills study area) the permitted levels for municipal waste in the Belfast Hills were estimated to be in the region of 66 per cent of the total NI level.
Illegal Waste
The 2005 report suggested that illegal landfill waste in Northern Ireland was in the region of 0.5 million tonnes per year. Throughout the whole of Northern Ireland, there was a ratio of one waste facility per 75km2 in comparison to one facility per 10.6km2 for the greater Belfast area. By contrast, the Belfast Hills area had a higher density of waste facilities with a ratio of one site per 2.7km2.
Development plans set out how an area should look in the future by deciding the type and scale of development and where buildings should be allowed. Each Council area in Northern Ireland has been working up Local Development Plans to make sure there is enough land available for the area’s housing, employment and community facilities, while protecting important landscape and environmental features.
Through the development plan, councils can identify the best locations for new homes, businesses and infrastructure while also protecting places of value to people or wildlife. The plans are an important consideration in dealing with planning applications and should help guide decision-making.
The Belfast Hills Partnership has been working with the three Council areas within the Belfast Hills – namely Belfast City Council, Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council and Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council to ensure that the Belfast Hills are consider and protected under any new plans. This is an ongoing process.
When looking at planning applications the Partnership strives to follow a number of key principles, namely:
- Objectivity i.e. providing only factual information
- Impartiality in reaching decisions
- Respect for all partners, associated organisations and individuals
- Openness and a willingness to share information where possible
- Promotion of the Partnership, including working in a spirit of co-operation
- The need for a continuous appreciation of strategic view and the role of the Partnership
Examples of the types of applications to which the Belfast Hills Partnership responds include landfill and quarry applications, housing schemes in which over a certain number of units are proposed, proposals which would breach a development or environmental stop line, and developments which have an accompanying Environmental Statement (Environmental Statements are only provided for major works).
The Belfast Hills Partnership endeavours to consult with community groups and individuals to express the concerns of local residents.
When responding to a planning application letters are sent not only to Planning Service, but also to the applicant to encourage communication on all levels.
Local government management of the Belfast Hills has changed with the Review of Public Administration (RPA) with new boundaries meaning councils reduced from 26 to 11 in 2015. The new arrangements should mean people have a greater role to play in issues of planning and regeneration.
Changing planning procedures mean planning decisions have transferred from the Department of the Environment (DOE) to local councils. One of these changes is how councils are supposed to involve local communities in not just planning proposals, but also a range of community development and regeneration.
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.
The Partnership estimates that up to 700,000 tonnes of legal landfill and in the region of 150,000 tonnes of illegal waste is disposed of in the Belfast Hills every year.
A definitive figure is not ascertainable because no one except the Belfast Hills Partnership is looking into this local issue.
This amount of waste equates to an estimated 34,000 lorry journeys in the Belfast Hills every year. Alarming as it is, this figure does not take into account HGV through traffic, quarry and other commercial traffic using these narrow roads.
The Partnership is also deeply concerned that there is no overall approach to this issue with traffic impact assessed on an individual planning application basis.
This means there is no apparent measurement of the culminative effect of multiple landfills and new housing.
That these issues do not seem to be assessed can lead to major problems especially on key roads such as the Ballycolin Road and the Glen Road.
The effect of this culminative growth of traffic has impacted on pedestrians and other road users’ safety. Many residents and visitors tell us the busy roads are too dangerous to walk.
Traffic also has an adverse affect on hedges, drains and the visual quality of the routes along the hills. This is particularly the case with attendant rubbish falling off vehicles as well as refuse which is thrown from moving cars.
The Partnership is spearheading a push towards an overall strategic approach as to how we can properly manage the Belfast Hills for business, for residents and for recreation.