Council Approves Capping of Craigahulliar Landfill, Eyes Future Uses

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has given the green light to cap the Craigahulliar landfill site—located on the grounds of a former Portrush quarry.

The non-hazardous landfill, covering 176,000 square metres, is divided into six cells. Three cells have already been filled and capped; cells 4 and 5 have been infilled and are ready to be capped; while cell 6 remains undeveloped.

At this month’s Environmental Services Committee meeting, members were asked to authorise moving to Stage 1 of the procurement gateway to carry out a scoping and feasibility study for the final engineered capping of the site.

DUP Alderman Mark Fielding supported the motion but raised questions about the site’s future reuse. He asked, "I’d just be interested in what other councils have done with land that has been capped," and added, "So it’s something we’d have to agree to and I’m curious what others think."

An officer explained that the council is planning to topsoil the land for grazing—a practice the council has “done in the past.” The officer added, "Of course we can bring proposals for some alternatives if that’s something members would like to look at. But at this stage the capping process is simply to topsoil it, but we can certainly look at alternatives if that’s what members wish."

Alliance Councillor Lee Kane agreed that the council "needs to have a think about how we use that land." He noted, "Obviously there has been income around that and economic benefits," and continued, "So it’s about looking at how do we replace that, and using it as a council asset that can be income generating and offset the rates burden we have." Kane also expressed interest in renewable energy, stating, "I’m particularly interested in how we can reuse it for renewables. Given the history of the site, there’s definitely something about how we can turn it into a green site."