Giants Causeway - Save the Causeway Memorial School Museum 2

Giants Causeway - Save the Causeway Memorial School Museum 1

St Patricks Primary School, Portrush, visited the museum yesterday, 

the last school to visit before NEELB locks the barrier 

permanently at the end of this week.

Here's a fascinating quote from the 2009 annual NEELB report:

"Protecting and Enhancing our Historic Environment

The Causeway School is a Grade B1 listed building, which is defined by the Environment and Heritage Service as a building of local importance or good example of some period or style; it was used as a school from 1915 until 1962. The building transferred to the NEELB and was restored to its present condition. The school is now exactly as it was in 1962 and operates a "Living History" experience for primary school children in term time and as a museum, open to the public, at Easter, in July and August and on afternoons when there are no schools present. As well as all the original artefacts there are two sculptures and two drawings by the famous Ulster artist Rosamund Praegar.

NEELB continues to maintain and conserve the building and has been successful in securing Heritage Lottery funding which is being used for conservation of the artefacts including the Praegar drawings and urgent repairs to the windows. The grant is also funding additional activities, extended opening hours and the use of the building by the local community."

Wouldn't it make you weep?

This requirement from the Information Commissioner's Model Publication Scheme is also relevant:

We would expect information in this class to be available at least for the 

current and previous three years. 

• Standing orders 

Standing orders for the conduct of meetings of the Board and Committees of the Board. 

• Agendas, background papers and minutes of Board meetings and committee meetings 

We would expect Board minutes and the minutes of similar meetings where decisions are made about the provision of services, excluding material that is properly considered to be private, to be readily available to the public. Information presented to those meetings, excluding those elements properly considered to be private, should also be made available.

The museum was mentioned in the agenda - it's online - for the December meeting of the NEELB Education Committee but both the minutes and the the Ray Gilbert report - Appendix 8 - are currently absent. Such behaviour, in my opinion, is unacceptable. The public are entitled to know what is being done in their name - and with their money.

There was an NEELB Board meeting in the Antrim Board Centre yesterday afternoon so I decided to drop in and have a look around. I noted a lengthy tete-a-tete between a senior board officer and two board members in advance of the meeting; I've also noted the absence of an agenda or officer's reports from the website:

I have a copy of the agenda but it's virtually information free when it comes to revealing what is being done in our name.

Giant's Causeway - Save the Causeway Memorial School Museum 3

Old Bushmills Distillery - Of Monsters and Men - Jake Bugg

BUSHMILLS, Ireland, June 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Global stars including Of Monsters and Men and Jake Bugg, together with friends Foy Vance, Willy Mason and Iain Archer, gave electrifying performances last night at Bushmills Live - the festival of handcrafted whiskey and music which took place among the barrels at the Old Bushmills Distillery. .. Source

Bushmills and the Great War Exhibition

Bushmills Heroes

1914-1918

Causeway Coast - To Frack or Not to Frack?

PLANNING APPLICATION :: E/2013/0093/F

Temporary works of drilling exploratory borehole to approx 2700m depth to investigate underground strata for hydrocarbon exploration under DETI license PL3/10 issued to Rathlin Energy Ltd.  Also to temporarily widen road into verge along 60m of Kilmahamogue Road to facilitate safe access.

The Causeway Coast is labelled as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty but wind turbines are sprouting up in ever increasing numbers and soon they could be joined by oil and gas rigs. Is there a risk that such a landscape for life could end up on life-support?

The Minister responsible for the issuing of extraction licences was in robust mood back in December 2011:

TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON FRACKING - FOSTER

Some comments grabbed my attention:

It is important, therefore, that I emphasise that should these explorations prove fruitful, and lead to a wish to go further and try to extract this valuable commodity, the necessary application for drilling and developing oil or gas will be subject to the full rigour of the Planning system and associated Environmental Impact Assessment process.

In my opinion, the planning system is rather limp when it comes to rigour, even when modestly powerful interests are involved.

Not only might domestic shale gas production help to provide energy independence but it could play a significant role in job creation. I firmly believe that Northern Ireland needs to explore the potential that shale gas offers, to even consider imposing a moratorium at this early stage would reek of a missed opportunity.

Ministers will always wheel out 'job creation' but has there been an impact assessment on job creation in the round? Is it possible that a small forest of oil rigs alongside wind turbines might impact adversely on the tourism sector, another part of the Minister's brief? The 'reek of exploitation' was, perhaps not the best image for the Minister to use as a selling point.

UGEE :: UGEE :: UGEE

The Minister for the Environment is drifting along in his colleague's wake - February 2013:

The public consultation will ensure that this programme of research delivers a thorough and robust examination of the issues. It is proposed to award funding for research in three areas:

• Baseline Characterisation;
• Fracking Operations, Impacts & Mitigation Measures;
• Regulatory Framework for Environmental Protection.

So which Minister will be the more robust at the Executive table?

The Green MLA paints a picture of the cart rolling along in advance of the donkey:

Officials from the Geological Survey today confirmed that licences granted for gas exploration are effectively contracts and any changes or the rescinding of the licences would be likely to result in legal action by the companies that they were issued to.

“So long as all the companies adhere to the requirements established in their licences, gas exploration and its associated Fracking cannot be stopped in Northern Ireland without legal ramifications for the Department. ..

It is clear that scientific investigations, public debate and scrutiny of gas exploration should have taken place before any of the licences were granted.

Here's a snippet from an email I received recently:

Rathlin Energy have now submitted their 2nd Planning Application for Ballinlea/North Antrim.

They are also calling two Public Meetings as part of this process:

Thursday 27th. June, Mosside Community Hall at 7 pm & Friday 28th. June, Ballinlea Orange Hall at 7 pm.

At both of these meetings they will first have some display panels and info boards as well as key staff to talk, and after 8.00 pm they will make a formal presentation on their drilling plans "... including pictures & diagrams, in order to explain what we view as relevant issues to our planning application."

This will be followed by a question and answer session..... to conclude at 9.30 pm. aprx.

Ballinlea Concerned Residents have also called a meeting for Tuesday 25th. June in the Ballintoy Parish Hall, Whitepark Road at 8 pm. (Old school at the junction of Ballinlea & Whitepark Roads.) where we will have a presentation on the potential health impacts of Oil & Gas Exploration [pdf file] by Geralyn McCarron, followed by a discussion.