Concerns Raised Over Exploratory Drilling In Woodburn Forest

Concerns have been raised over the exploratory drilling site in Woodburn Forest near Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland.

The site is near the Woodburn Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to Larne, Carrickfergus, Newtownabbey and North Belfast.

Two Sinn Féin representatives met with Infrastrata, the firm which is carrying out the work, and expressed genuine concerns from the local community.


Mr Oliver McMullun and Mr Gerry Kelly have asked InfraStrata to meet directly with a representative delegation of the 'Stop the Drill' protest group to address their concerns.

Mr McMullun said: "People have the right to know what exploratory drilling in the area will involve and to have clarity on the process.

"I have met with the protestors previously and I will be requesting another meeting following on from this meeting."

Mr Kelly said: "DETI and DOE, who have been involved from the inception of this project, and who have authorised the licensing and drilling for the project have a responsibility to deal with issues of concern to the public.

"We have put questions to NI Water, who are the owners of the land, but we are still awaiting response."

(CD/LM)