Derry City and Strabane District Council members have questioned why remediation of the Mobuoy dump continues to be “kicked down the road”, while quick action is being taken at similar sites in England.

In a recent update, Environment Minister, Andrew Muir, said he hoped that remediation of the Mobuoy dump, which lies close to the River Faughan and is said to be one of the biggest illegal dump sites in Europe, will begin in 2028, while an estimated cost will be revealed in the upcoming weeks.

Speaking during September’s Environment and Regeneration Committee meeting, SDLP councillor Declan Norris said he was disappointed in Mr Muir’s approach towards the dump site, which was discovered in 2012 and is still to be cleaned up.

“The team is working very hard and I’ve no doubt council is working very hard,” he clarified.

placeholder image — SDLP Councillor Declan Norris.

“We’re nearly 14 years down the road, and it just looks as if there’s a can being kicked down the road until the next election.

“That doesn’t help the local residents and the 1.65 million tonnes of waste laying underneath that ground.”

UUP alderman Derek Hussey compared Mobuoy to a waste “supersite” in England.

In August the Kidlington dump in Oxfordshire was cleared of 2,000 tonnes of rubbish dumped in 2025, at a cost of £6 million.

“It’s been taken away, millions of tonnes removed, that was the government saying ‘No, this is it, war on waste and all the rest of it’. They were able to do it there, why the blazes can’t it be done here?

“As [councillor Norris] rightly said 14 years this is ongoing, the lifetime of this council to date it’s been an issue. That is absolutely scandalous and the minister has to bear responsibility on that.”