"Future looks safe for Glenullin bog"

The future of one of Ireland’s most splendid examples of a raised bog looks secure now that a developer has been legally stopped from working the Glenullin Raised Bog – but the Glenullin and Agivey Development and Conservation Group have vowed to continue their fight to have the bog fully restored.

Having campaigned tirelessly for 18 months to draw attention to the destruction of the bog, the Conservation Group, were delighted to learn that the commercial peat developer who was operating on the bog has been forced to withdraw his interest by Planners… but they still don’t think the battle is over.

The bog is now for sale on the open market and the Conservation Group members are preparing their battle plan in case another commercial developer should buy over the peat bog which is situated in the townland of Glenullin on the outskirts on Garvagh.

In a statement issued this week the Development Committee reiterated their primary aim to have the bog restored to its original state and stressed there is urgent work to be carried out to prepare the bog for rehabilitation.

The Committee now want to see the owner or developer being required legally to dam up the drains which were opened by them at the bog and they want this work carried out under the supervision of someone with expertise and ability such as ‘Environmental Service’ Countryside and Wildlife – who have recently supervised the Ballynahone Bog restoration programme.

Other moves which the Committee wants to see happening immediately include the restoration of the bog surface to the level of the surroundings, the removal of machinery from the bog site, the removal and disposal of the concrete storage area at the site and the removal and disposal of the entrance to the bog, including the gravel roadway which was structured at the site.

A spokesman for the group said in an open letter to this paper that the Glenullin and Agivey Development and Conservation Group wished to convey their gratitude to the various groups and individuals who gave unstinted support and did not stand idly by and let one of the last raised bogs in Ireland be destroyed.

The statement reads, “The landowner and developer had been carrying out unauthorised work in the bog for some considerable time, digging out deep drains and extracting peat and preparing the ground for a much bigger onslaught.”

It was only when the Group began a campaign to make people aware of the destruction to the environment and the importance that this raised bog characterises as an environmental, educational and tourist attraction that the developer was legally stopped from working and forced to apply for planning permission if the process was to continue.

The Conservation Group have had much discussion with the many groups and individuals including many of the senior Government Departments, and officially the group have commissioned their own professional research to establish the impact and relationship of the bog to the environment and the surrounding landscape.

Recently the group has been notified that following an extended period of time given by the Planning Service, the developer has failed to obtain planning permission to extract peat from this bog.

The group regards the refusal by Planning Service to grant permission as a battle won, but the campaign still continues and the Group has vowed not to rest on its laurels until the bog is fully restored.

The next move for the Group is to liaise with Government bodies to have the bog granted Area of Special Scientific Interest status so that the bog’s future will be guaranteed.