NI attorney general to intervene over key legal battle

Attorney General John Larkin QC has raised an issue of devolution at the appeal against a ruling that a permanent secretary lacked the power to approve a £240m waste incinerator at Mallusk.

It was also confirmed that a protected costs order will be in place to limit the legal bill for the losing side in the litigation.

Senior judges have fast-tracked the case for a one-day hearing at the Court of Appeal in Belfast next week.

The Department for Infrastructure is seeking to overturn a verdict that it unlawfully gave the green light for the waste disposal facility at Hightown Quarry without a functioning executive.

In May the High Court held the senior civil servant who took the decision did not have the required legal power.

The judgment is being appealed amid fears it could have wider repercussions for other planning applications.

At a review hearing on Monday it emerged that the attorney general has raised a specific point about the interpretation of part of the 1998 Northern Ireland Act.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan requested a draft notice of devolution to establish its bearing on the case.

The incinerator scheme had originally been turned down in 2015 by the then environment minister, Mark H Durkan.

But a consortium behind the project on behalf of six local councils, Arc21, was given permission after the Planning Appeals Commission recommended approval.

In September 2017 the Department said it was in the public interest for the waste management system to be built.

Up to 4,000 letters were lodged and judicial review proceedings were issued by Colin Buick, chairperson of community group NoArc21.

His lawyers argued that the decision lacked the direction and control of a minister required under legislation.