Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has made a shock U-turn over the protection of a geological site of national importance in Co Tyrone.

The minister has instructed his department to re-declare Lisnaragh, near Donemana, an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) weeks after he cancelled a bid to designate it.

Friends of the Earth claimed it as a victory after having threatened legal action over the cancellation, arguing the minister was biased against declaring ASSIs where they could restrict commercial activity. Their argument was based on comments he made in a recent Belfast Telegraph interview.

In a letter sent to members of the Stormont Environment Committee, Mr Wilson said he had instructed his Department to re-declare Lisnaragh an ASSI — a designation to protect it — and launch a second consultation with the landowner.

An earlier bid by Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to declare Lisnaragh an ASSI was rescinded by the minister in late October after the Environment Committee said the consultation was flawed and incomplete.

Mr Wilson’s letter said the Committee was understood to have reached this conclusion from allegations that residents were denied access to a key document that would have assisted him in preparing an objection.

“This document was the report prepared by Dr R Bazley at the request of the former Environment and Heritage Service to review the Pleistocene localities from the Earth Science Conservation Review before proceeding with detailed ASSI proposals,” he said.

“This report contains one line on Lisnaragh — which simply confirms that, in Dr Bazley’s expert opinion, the moraine assemblage at Lisnaragh is of “national significance”.

“NIEA has chosen to withhold the release of this document because it would be discourteous to landowners to have such information disclosed before they have been informed directly and because it might encourage pre-emptive action to frustrate a future designation.”

Mr Wilson said his officials had advised that a scientific report prepared on behalf of the landowners did not dispute the importance of the earth science or invalidate its selection as an ASSI.

“The Department is therefore under a statutory duty to make a further declaration. I therefore propose to instruct NIEA to re-declare Lisnaragh ASSI and re-consult the landowners,” he said.

Friends of the Earth spokesperson Lisa Fagan said Lisnaragh merited designation because it contains a moraine created by glaciers.

And she said: “The legislation is clear — ASSI designation is a matter of scientific judgement, not ministerial discretion.”

The group said the minister’s refusal to designate the site was biased after he told the Belfast Telegraph in October that he would be ‘cautious' about declaring ASSIs where commercial activity might be restricted by the declaration.

“We planned to argue in court that Mr Wilson's Telegraph article shows he was biased against declaring ASSIs,” Ms Fagan said.

“Mr Wilson's interference in the scientific work of his Department undermines the many hardworking officials who are doing their best to give Northern Ireland's environment the protection it deserves.

“Sammy Wilson has unintentionally, but convincingly, made the case for an independent environmental protection agency, something he has vociferously opposed,” she added.