Casement Park GAA stadium: Legal action over planned new arena will be decided after Easter

Legal action over a planned new GAA stadium in the heart of west Belfast will be decided after Easter, a High Court judge vowed today.

Mr Justice Humphreys insisted there is to be no delay in hearing a residents group’s challenge to the redevelopment of Casement Park and then issuing his verdict.

Despite some lawyers seeking more time to prepare, he confirmed the case remains listed for later this month.

The judge pledged: “I’m going to hear this case and I’m going to give a decision after Easter because I recognise the very significant role it plays for the community, for the Gaelic Athletic Association, and for the good governance of Northern Ireland.

“We are not going to wait until summer for a hearing and determination of this issue.”

Mooreland and Owenvarragh Residents Association (MORA) is challenging Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon’s decision in July last year to grant planning permission for a 34,000 capacity arena at the venue in Andersonstown.

Some of those living in the area surrounding Casement Park are opposed to the scale of the estimated £110m project.

Concerns have been raised that the height of the stadium, traffic, parking and noise could cause significant harm to the neighbourhood.

In 2014 MORA won a legal battle to quash a previous decision to build a bigger, 38,000 seat venue on the site.

Lawyers for the group are now mounting a new bid to stop the revised plans by disputing the lawfulness of the Minister’s decision.

Leave to apply for judicial review was granted last November, when the Department for Infrastructure and the Executive Office did not oppose the case advancing to a full hearing.

A protective costs order has also been agreed to cap the legal bill for whoever ultimately loses the case