RESIDENTS "have no rights" under an agreement which "usurped" planning procedures for the redevelopment of Casement Park, the High Court heard this week.
Counsel for the Mooreland and Owenvarragh Residents’ Association (MORA), which opposes the 34,578 capacity stadium, said planning conditions were set in “very vague terms”.
Ronan Lavery QC, for the residents' group, claimed the agreement made it "difficult to enforce and breach of those conditions".
MORA is seeking a judicial review of Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon's Department decision, taken in July, to approve the GAA's proposal for a new stadium in Andersonstown.
Mr Lavery drew the courts attention to the terms of a Section 76 Planning Agreement, involving Ulster GAA, which includes clauses such as the appointment of a stadium manager, travel plan coordinator, event safety manager, event management group and traffic management contractors.
“What is happening here is that a substantive decision hasn’t been made on the planning application, the whole process has been usurped by the planning agreement,” he stated.
He added that "residents themselves have no rights under the agreement" and would have insufficient representation on the stadium's event management group.
Mr Lavery noted that residents in Mooreland Drive and Owenvarragh Drive, which are access routes for the stadium, were not listed for representation.
He also raised concerns about traffic in the area, stating that there were "fundamental errors" in the approach to park and ride facilities, which he contested may not be available for stadium events.
Using a hypothetical Ed Sheeran concert as an example, Mr Lavery said "we have no idea how the city is going to cope with that".
DISHEVELLED: How the Andersonstown venue looks today
“We are still left with this hulking mass overlooking our gardens, a big white elephant of a structure which can’t be used," he said of such circumstances.
Mr Lavery said the Stormont Executive's commitment to redevelop Casement Park in the New Decade New Approach leads to the “inescapable conclusion” that planning was approached within a “how do we get this done” framework.
“It seems there is a determination to get this project over the line because it was promised," he said.
Responding for the Minister, Paul McLaughlin QC insisted that any extra traffic congestion around Casement Park can be managed.
He set out how 240,000 golfing spectators safely attended the British Open when it was staged and “operated flawlessly” at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Mr McLaughlin added: “No doubt there will be learning as Casement Park develops, but one cannot say the planning authorities didn’t have a full assessment and didn’t know what the potential effects might be.”
Responding to concerns around the planning agreement as well as traffic, Paul McLaughlin QC, for Ulster GAA, noted the inclusion of objectives which are the "duty of the travel plan coordinator to achieve”.
He set out a number of "worst case" scenarios that had been assessed, stating that there is a "toolkit" of measures to deal with extra congestion around Casment Park.
Mr McLaughlin pointed to a host park and ride and an "integrated ticketing system", which includes GAA coach and travel.
He said there were "whole range" of layover facilities for coaches, adding that there were "real commitments" to provide these by local organisations who have "plenty of connections to the GAA" including local clubs and schools.
"No doubt there will be learning as Casement Park develops, but one cannot say the planning authorities didn’t have a full assessment and didn’t know what the potential effects might be," he stated.
