Dickson Hugely Disappointed at Pig Farm Planning Approval

East Antrim MLA, Stewart Dickson, who had been supporting objectors to the massive Pig Farm planned to be sited on the edge of Newtownabbey on the Reahill Road, has expressed his huge disappointment at the Antrim & Newtownabbey Council’s decision to approve the planning application.

Mr Dickson said: “I, like many others, very much regret that this blight on the landscape, and potential noxious pollution of the surrounding area that normally accompanies such operations, was given the go ahead by Antrim & Newtownabbey Council on Tuesday night.

“It demonstrates perfectly why our Planning Regulations are flawed as no objector has a right to a ‘Third Party Appeal’. If the decision had gone against the applicant, he could have gone to appeal. We need such a mechanism for objectors and I intend to do all I can to ensure that this issue is redressed.

“In the interim I and the objectors will seek to ensure every environmental standard is met at the site.”