Council - Re-Gen's Storage of RDF Waste at Warrenpoint is 'Unacceptable and Unsuitable'

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council have passed a motion condemning 'in the strongest possible terms' the negative impact that Re-Gen's storage and handling of household waste at Warrenpoint Port is having on residents of the seaside town.

Councillors agreed to hear the emergency motion at last Monday night's (7 July) monthly council meeting. It followed a series of moves by political representatives but these only came on the back of years of public outrage and incessant lobbying by campaign groups Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment (RARE) and Rotten to the Point.

At the meeting Councillors condemned the ongoing negative impact RDF waste storage at the port has on public health and the environment.  The foul smell which has been ongoing for the past 2 years has sparked many complaints from Warrenpoint residents and concern has been expressed on its effect on tourism. Despite previous meetings with the harbour authority and regional bodies, no resolution has been reached to date.

The council has now called for immediate action, including writing to the Harbour Authority, the Infrastructure Minister, Agriculture Minister and the NI Environmental Agency.

Timeline

1. 30 June 2025: South Down MLA Sinead Ennis  speaks out at Stormont on the "putrid black bin waste' stored by Re-Gen at Warrenpoint Port to DAERA Minister Andrew Muir.
2. 3 July: Crotlieve Councillor Mark Gibbons calls on Sinn Fein and SDLP representatives to step down from the board. "Will your parties now step down from the WHA Board as a gesture of solidarity and respect to the people of Warrenpoint? I believe that Stormont speeches mean little if your party still sits on the board of the very body you’re condemning and receives £8,000 per year for doing so. That contradiction has never sat right with me. And I don’t believe it sits right with the community either."
3. 4 July: Sinn Fein representative Cllr Jim Brennan and SDLP representative Cllr Laura Devlin resign from the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority Board.
4. 7 July: An emergency motion put forward by Sinn Fein Cllr Mickey Ruane and seconded by Cllr Kate Murphy is passed at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council's July full council meeting.

Many passionate speeches were made in support of the motion at last week's council meeting. Cllr Ruane speaking on his motion said "This is not a  knee-jerk reaction to the most recent smells that are obvious in the town. This has been going on for a number of years"

Call for RDF waste to be removed

Cllr Ruane explained he and his colleagues had met with WHA and Re-Gen. "At the very outset, we said to them that if they can't come up with a solution to this issue, that at some stage we would have to call for the RDF waste to be removed from the port, if they can't deal with the issue at hand. People are disappointed that it's still there. They're angry that it's still there, angry that it's still interrupting the lives of people in Warrenpoint"

Speaking about the Wake the Giant festival in June he added "Everybody commented on the smell there was going into town, it was so obvious, everybody could smell it. That's very unfortunate". During the Festival telegraph poles stored at the port also reportedly caused an odour.

"we're getting visitors who probably haven't been to Warrenpoint before and what you want to do when you get them there is you want them to come back. But if they're going to come to the town, and they're going to have to deal with the smell that's so obvious around the town, it's going to have the opposite impact." 

Gone Downhill

Next to speak was Mournes Councillor Henry Reilly who said "I would just point out, it's actually one of our former councillors, Minister Kimmins who is responsible for the port so it would be important to put her into this directly". Cllr Reilly added that since Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd was appointed there has been no Unionist appointed onto the WHA board. "Look what's happened. It's just gone downhill ever since."

He concluded "There's got to be something that could be done there. Why can it not be stored in an area well away from a populated area? It just doesn't seem sensible to have it right in the middle of such a densely populated area when it's giving off such bad odours"

Downpatrick Cllr Gareth Sharvin said the SDLP fully agree with the sentiments of the motion and asked for a short recess to take in the wording of the motion. 

Totally Unacceptable

Following the recess councillors continued to air their opinions. Crotlieve Cllr Declan McAteer said  "Eighteen months have passed since we as a council last voiced our concerns and the fact it's over two years, since this was flagged up as a major issue, the fact that this remains a problem is totally unacceptable."

No Credible Plan

Cllr Jim Brennan one of the councillors who resigned said  "I resigned from the board as a non executive member on Friday, and the straw that broke the camels back in my opinion is there's no credible plan to resolve the issue."

Despair

Slieve Gullion Councillor David Taylor added "residents are at a point of despair at this stage and the fact that it hasn't been addressed in the way that they would have expected it to be. I would certainly make an appeal for the Harbour Authority and the statutory agencies that are required to deal with this situation, to get to the bottom of it once and for all and deal with it"

Crotlieve Councillor Jarlath Tinnelly is the only remaining Councillor on the WHA Board.

Call for Special Council Meeting for Public to Have their Say

Campaign group Rotten to the Point are currently calling for council to call a special meeting for the community to have their say "Re Gen Waste, Warrenpoint Harbour Authority had their special meeting which took place on Monday, 25th March 2024 ... It is now time you heard from the community affected by this stinking scandal and only them, it's their turn now. You heard from Re Gen Waste and WHA already.. The community deserves to be heard the same way Re Gen Waste and WHA were, and this special meeting should be made open to a public gallery ..."

The Motion

That this Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the ongoing and escalating negative impact that the storage and handling of household waste by ReGen at Warrenpoint Port is having on the people of Warrenpoint and the surrounding area;

Highlights with deep concern the serious and persistent deterioration in environmental and public health conditions, including overwhelming odours, an increased presence of flies and vermin;

Notes that these conditions are not only a major nuisance but represent a growing public health risk to residents, particularly those living in close proximity to the port, including families with young children and vulnerable individuals;

Further condemns the reappearance of these unacceptable environmental nuisances during the recent Wake the Giant Festival, an event central to the district’s cultural and tourism offering, and warns of the likely disruption to other summer festivals and community activities should this issue remain unresolved;

Asserts that the ongoing presence of RDF waste in a densely populated, residential and recreational area is wholly inappropriate and has resulted in residents being forced to endure foul smells, an inability to open windows, enjoy outdoor spaces, or run local businesses without disruption;

Warns that Warrenpoint’s economic prosperity, social wellbeing, and long-term reputation are under serious threat if immediate action is not taken to end this situation, which has persisted for over two years;

Agrees to write urgently to the Chair of the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority Board, the Minister for Infrastructure, Liz Kimmins MLA; the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir MLA, and the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to make clear this council’s position: that the handling and storage of RDF waste in Warrenpoint in such close proximity to homes, community and public spaces is unacceptable and unsuitable;  And calls on them to initiate formal discussions with ReGen.

It was also agreed to invite the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority to Council to provide an update on the ongoing situation.