A spokesperson for the arc21 project said:
“arc21 and Indaver have been voluntarily preparing an updated Further Environmental Information (FEI) submission in support of the arc21 residual waste project’s planning application for a number of months now. This will be the tenth volume of FEI since the planning application was originally submitted in 2014. We welcome the letter from the Department for Infrastructure dated 6 March 2026 and can confirm that due to our voluntary efforts over recent months we are already at an advanced stage in our consultations with the various statutory consultees to address their queries and will complete the necessary responses in the coming months.
“Over the last 12 years, the project has been recommended for approval on four separate occasions including by an independent Planning Appeals Commission review. In that time, it has received no objections from over 70 statutory consultations including from the NI Environment Agency, Public Health Agency, Department for Infrastructure Rivers and NI Water.
“We remain confident that following the completion of the updated FEI submission and consultation process, the project will once again be recommended for approval. A further recommendation for approval from the planning officials would then allow a robust and evidence-based planning decision to be made by the Minister which could permit the project to progress to the next important stage of procurement where the six local councils in the arc21 area will ultimately decide if the project proceeds.”
To read more about the project and Northern Ireland’s waste infrastructure needs you can view and download the Indaver report: Tipping Point – NI’s Looming Waste Crisis: The Case for Critical Waste Infrastructure for Northern Ireland here www.becon.co.uk
You can also add your support for the project to help ensure Northern Ireland manages its waste sustainably rather than relying on unreliable waste export markets or landfill. The link below will allow you to send a letter of support to the planning file here