Paisley 'supports Sweeney appeal'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7271147.stm

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Ian Paisley Jnr will support Seymour Sweeney's appeal against a decision to refuse him planning permission for a visitor centre at the Giant's Causeway.

Last September, Environment Minister Arlene Foster said she was "minded" to approve the plans.

But in January, she said the proposal would have an adverse impact on the world heritage site.

However, Mr Paisley said he has never been dissuaded by any argument against Mr Sweeney's proposal.

"If Mr Sweeney brings the application to me in its current format, I will be supporting it," he said.

In a statement on Friday, Mr Sweeney's company, Seaport, said the reasons for the refusal were "not sustainable".

The Giant's Causeway attracts nearly 500,000 visitors a year.

The previous visitors' centre on the site burned down in April 2000.

Renowned for its polygonal columns of layered basalt - resulting from a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago - it is the only World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland.