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Mr Robert Carmichael, the East Londonderry Ulster Unionist Party Chairman, has emphasised that the Party will lobby the Stormont Minister responsible for the environment to expand the number of Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) with specific interest to the constituency.

Mr Carmichael said: “Northern Ireland has only a small percentage of its land area designated in this way compared to Scotland, for example. This is an important building block in eco-tourism which is becoming big business. We in the UUP do not want to see Northern Ireland in general and East Londonderry in particular fall behind.”

Mr Carmichael said the East Londonderry UUP Association intends to lobby the Stormont Minister responsible for the environment if a definite date could be set when the percentage of land set aside under the ASSI scheme could be increased so that it compares to Scotland.

“As someone who has served in a number of offices in the Ulster Farmers’ Union, including its East Londonderry Chair for two years, and knowing the importance of the farming industry in this constituency, I am convinced this would be good news for environmentalists and also for people who want to build up the eco-tourist industry in East Londonderry,” added Mr Carmichael.

UUP urges boost in eco-tourism in East Londonderry