Members of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have voted by majority against the recommendation of planning officials to permit Flintridge Resources Limited to carry out proposed mineral exploration works in County Tyrone.

During a specially convened council meeting, officials explained the company is proposing to drill nine boreholes at Cavanacaw in Omagh.

Under Permitted Development Rights (PDR) legislation, the Council has 28 days from notification to decide if there should be restriction by issuing a direction, which officials recommended should not be done.

Alliance Councillor Stephen Donnelly opposed this because: “If we were to do otherwise, we would act in the face of the Council direction taken as recently as last October, when we rejected a similar application in the same area.

“It seems these planning applications already in the system should just have been amended to include these latest boreholes as part of a transparent, robust and informative application, rather than going down this road under PDR.”

He referred also to the lack of community confidence within the area in question due to “historic breaches, but even setting that aside the fact remains the material considerations underpinning our previous decision are equally as valid today with this new proposal”.

He continued: “All of this should be hammered out and clarified through a robust process.”

Councillor Donnelly formally proposed going against the recommendation, which was seconded by Sinn Fein’s Councillor Stephen McCann, who said: “Any potential implication to the environment deserves full scrutiny.”

However, Ulster Unionist Councillor Victor Warrington described himself as “of a different thinking” and believed the recommendation should be supported.

He said: “Our environmental health team has said there would be no problems, and this company has been in the area for well in excess of 20 years, and they don’t seem to have caused any major problems.”

At this, Councillor Warrington was interrupted by someone participating in the meeting saying: “Come off it”, although it was unclear who this emanated from.

He continued: “This is a situation where they are proposing drill holes and nothing else, so I propose we agree with the recommendation before us.”

This was seconded by party colleague, Councillor Robert Irvine.

Councillor Emmet McAleer, Independent, told members: “There are a number of very serious concerns and ... what does surprise me is the Council planning team is happy to sit back and allow this.

“We have talked about the presumption in favour of planning and how the Department operates, making no effort to ensure consultations are community-focused.”

He stressed: “I don’t want to see this council, as the local planning authority, to be in breach of its obligations in protecting our environment and people.

“I’m very mindful of what we’re dealing with and the live legal proceedings around health and safety breaches on site. We should not be accommodating or bending over backwards to facilitate this.”

Councillor Donal O’Cofaigh, Independent, also opposed the recommendation pointing to “the social implications of disruption and concerns around this industry, including the impact on conservation areas and environmental factors and water pollution”.

He added: “The precautionary principle is one we have to uphold as a council.”

Sinn Fein’s Councillor Glen Campbell said: “We’re trying to get more scrutiny and transparency. There are serious concerns and I don’t feel seeking a full planning application goes against consultees who, of course, would be part of that decision, and their views would be taken on board.”

Independent Councillor Eamon Keenan told members the area “is hydrologically linked to the River Foyle, which is a special conservation area, and with previous breaches of planning on that site going back as far as 2014, there is a real risk we have to take seriously”.

While Councillor Josephine Deehan, Independent noted the advice provided, she supported refusal of the recommendation, stating: “There’s absolutely no reason for this not to go for full planning appraisal.

“I disagree it would not detract from the amenity of the area, and certainly that is a matter of opinion, but some of the local dwellings are quite close to the site.

“The drilling of boreholes six days a week, 12 hours a day, would create a serious nuisance to local inhabitants.”

Councillor Alex Baird, Ulster Unionist, referred to the possibility of challenge if the recommendation was voted against, and warned on the impact this could have on the Council.

“It seems there’s a lot of barrack room lawyers [in this meeting] who know everything about everything, and know more than the professionals who have been consulted on this.

“Were [the] Council to be surcharged, I certainly wouldn’t want to be paying any money into a decision like that,” he said.

A vote came in 18-10 against the recommendation, with one abstention, and the result negated Councillor Warrington’s proposal.