On the Tentative List
Before somewhere like the Giants Causeway can be designated a World Heritage site it has to be placed on what is known as the "tentative list", which is a kind of holding area for potential wonders of the world. During an extremely confident performance in front of the Stormont Environment Committee this morning, Arlene Foster stressed that Seymour Sweeney's private proposal for a Causeway Visitor Centre is still very much on her 'tentative list'. He may be in pole position but no final decision has been taken and she hopes her announcement will provoke some dialogue between the planning service, the developer and the key stakeholders such as Moyle Council and the National Trust.
She was also adamant that she met no one lobbying for or against the private planning application and that no member of her party made representations to her about the matter.
Unless the story takes some as yet unforeseen turn, it would therefore seem that Seymour Sweeney's membership of the DUP and contacts with the Paisleys may ultimately be deemed irrelevant to the DUP Minister's handling of the planning application. As the journalist who yesterday reported on Ian Paisley Jr.'s fishing trips with Mr Sweeney, I believe that whilst there may be evidence of a smoked lobster, there is, at this stage anyway, no smoking gun.
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