A GROUP of residents living adjacent to Casement Park have publicly backed plans to redevelop the stadium.
The residents have called for "progress to be made" on the GAA's proposal for a new 34,578 capacity stadium, which was given planning permission by Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon in July.
It comes following last week's revelations that Mooreland & Owenvarragh Residents’ Association (MORA) – a separate residents' group – has bid to quash the Department for Infrastructure's decision.
In 2014, MORA's High Court victory overturned plans to build a 38,000 capacity Casement Park, which was given planning permission the previous year.
Last Tuesday, the residents' association submitted a judicial review application to the courts in the hope of putting a stop to the latest stadium proposals.
Now a group of residents have spoken out against MORA's position, insisting there is "broad community support" for the Casement Park project.
MORA has previously written to residents about its judicial review plans, stating that the redevelopment "will cause significant harm to the neighbourhood".
Nineteen residents have since signed a letter in support of the GAA's proposals, rejecting MORA's position.
The letter, dated October 24, notes that the redevelopment "has been sensitive and has presented challenges" for residents living adjacent the stadium. However, the signatories welcomed "commitments" by Ulster and Antrim GAA to address residents' concerns, which they say were articulated during a "comprehensive community consultation process" in 2016.
"With the Minister for Infrastructure having granted planning permission for the project, we are looking forward to those directly involved in the project's redevelopment working positively and constructively with us as local residents throughout the development period and when the stadium is complete," the letter reads.
The residents said they "were surprised" to receive a letter from MORA, stating that they "have not heard directly" from the group "in a number of years".
"While we want to place on record that we do not agree with or support their (MORA) position to question the Minister's decision to approve planning, as residents and neighbours we do respect their right to do so," the residents behind the letter write.
"This project has dragged on for too long, and we now want progress to be made with the redevelopment commencing."
Donal O’Hara, who signed the letter in support of the redevelopment, said: “I’ve played in Casement and won finals, and there’s nothing like it. That’s a big loss for the GAA and the community in general.
“What are the other options if it doesn’t go ahead? Go back to what it was? It needs to be done. Gaels and the majority of residents themselves want it done because it has been lying idle for so long.”
Mr O’Hara, whose home lies immediately next to the stadium, added: “If you go back to 2016 there was a 32-week consultation, which is unheard of. The feedback informed the shape of the design in terms of the scale of it and the capacity. They were all reduced.”
In an earlier letter to residents, MORA described the Minister's decision to grant planning permission as "flawed", and has questioned the legality of the decision.
"Our legal advisors have identified various grounds on which to challenge the legality of the decision," the group stated.
"If we do not pursue a judicial review, the proposed over-sized stadium will certainly be constructed at some time in the future, bringing with it the harms that were identified in over 1,300 objections to the scheme and which, at least partially, were acknowledged by the planners.
"Within that context, judicial review gives us our chance of preventing those harms from occurring. We acknowledge that the prospects of success are uncertain, as they are in any court setting. Nonetheless, we believe that we have good grounds for challenging the decision and achieving a positive outcome."
A Departmental spokesperson said: “The Department has received leave papers on behalf of Mooreland and Owenvarragh Residents' Association in respect of the decision to grant planning permission for Casement Park. Judicial review proceedings are ongoing.”
