A series of pollution incidents have been reported at the small wooded trail located in the east of the city
20:36, 28 Oct 2026Updated 08:19, 29 Oct 2026
Pollution at Cregagh Glen
Belfast City Council is demanding answers from a neighbouring council over the pollution of a “jewel in the crown” East Belfast beauty spot.
A series of pollution incidents have been reported at Cregagh Glen, a small, picturesque wooded gorge, walking trail, stream and waterfalls located in East Belfast, and rising into the Castlereagh Hills.
The Glen is part owned by Belfast Council and the National Trust, but the source of the pollution is believed by many to come from works at a continuing residential development at lands north of Ballymaconaghy Road, which is in the area of Lisburn and Castlereagh Borough Council. The development in question is Mount Ober, a £50million residential development located on the former Knockbracken Driving Range at Ballymaconaghy Road.
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This week councillors at the Belfast City Council Standards and Business Committee unanimously approved a motion put forward by Green Party Councillor Brian Smyth, to press the Chief Executive of Lisburn and Castlereagh Borough Council for a full public account of its monitoring and enforcement of planning application LA05/2022/1170/F, including compliance with Condition 12.
The motion states: “Belfast City Council notes that Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council have a live enforcement case open in relation to an alleged breach of planning conditions due to works at Ballymaconaghy Road, Belfast. Condition 12 of the planning approval prohibits construction works within 10 metres of a watercourse, namely Cregagh Glen.
“This council is deeply concerned that LCCC have failed to provide any reassurance to either the public or elected officials that urgent steps are being taken to stop these works in accordance with the precautionary principles until there has been full compliance with the conditions.”
Belfast Council is demanding confirmation as to how often Lisburn Castlereagh is inspecting the site and the wider Cregagh Glen to monitor for signs of pollution, and details of the pollution-prevention measures it has put in place. City Hall wants wants Lisburn Castlereagh to publish the outcome of an investigation and strengthen safeguards for future development affecting the Cregagh Glen catchment.
Belfast councillors also agreed to work with the National Trust to establish a “Friends of Cregagh Glen” group to “enable residents to help protect one of East Belfast’s most beautiful natural assets.”
Councillor Smyth said after the committee meeting this week: “There have been at least six confirmed pollution incidents at Cregagh Glen since 2024. There is major development work going on further upstream in Lisburn and Castlereagh at the old Mount Ober site.
“I have had so many people say to me, there is something going on up there, it is not right and does not sit well. I went up a few times myself, and clearly there was something wrong with the water and the sediment.
“The response I got to a Freedom Of Information request from Lisburn and Castlereagh was not great, and so I have proposed this motion. I want heightened monitoring, and I want to know what sort of mitigations they are putting in place.
“Condition 12 means there can’t be any building work within 10 metres of a water course. We need more answers. I went through Belfast Council, took it to the City Solicitor, and made sure the proposal is legally competent.”
He added: “But there is another element here. I want to see the establishment of a Friends of Cregagh Glen Group. We have Friends of Ormeau Park, Friends of Cherryvale. There is considerable public interest here, and I think there has been a failure with elected representatives to actually acknowledge and deal with this.
“People have been speaking out about it, and they have been my eyes and ears. There is so much potential to Cregagh Glen, people really appreciate it, and it was a lifleline during coronavirus. It was closed for six weeks to take down a massive tree, and people were constantly onto me about it. I know how important this place is.”
He said: “We talk about Lough Neagh, and that is the big one people can see, but every other waterway in Northern Ireland is under threat, and for me it is about trying to draw the line. Ok, we don’t have an independent environmental protection agency, which we all want, but there are levers there within councils and government departments that can be used to tighten things up. Those levers have not been used.”
He added: “Part of the problem around Cregagh Glen is that the issues are happening upstream, in Lisburn and Castlereagh, yet Cregagh Glen is part owned by Belfast Council and the National Trust. I want Lisburn and Castlereagh to deliver what is in the legislation in terms of keeping water courses clean and healthy during this development.
“I have been very forthright on this because I think it is the only way to get things done. You can be nice about this, write letters, try to get things done quietly, but then nothing happens. We have to be front-footed and aggressive if we want to protect somewhere like Cregagh Glen, which I believe is a jewel in the crown, not just of Lisnasharragh, but the wider East Belfast.”
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