By 
TWO Carrickmore men who set up a waste business more than a decade ago, only to see their licence suspended months later, say the long-running dispute has devastated their lives.
In 2011–2012, then-owner of the long-established Grogan Quarries Ltd, Frankie Grogan, and business partner Philip Anderson sought to expand their Termon Road site by developing a waste facility.
They obtained a Waste Management Licence, but say the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) suspended it three months later because waste delivered to the site had been wrongly categorised – a decision they claim destroyed their business and the prospect of creating local jobs.
“I used up all my personal resources and sold my quarry plant to survive. I’ve lost the quarry, the business and the new operation we set up. It’s put awful stress on me and my family and destroyed my reputation,” Mr Grogan said.
He said the suspension led to an immediate demand that all waste be removed from the site.
“The NIEA gave us 14 days to remove everything, costing us five times more than what we were paid to take the waste in. But they did not sanction the company that supplied the waste or explain why it had been wrongly categorised in the first place.”
He added that the financial consequences have been severe on both men.
“On March 1, 2020, the bank secured a High Court judgment against me and Grogan Quarries Ltd for more than £1.8 million combined. I’ve now lost everything… the quarry, the business and my good name.”
Philip Anderson described the experience as ‘a nightmare’, both personally and financially. A keen runner who helped raised thousands for charity, he said the stress has taken a lasting toll.
“My wife was very ill and died in 2014 while all this was going on,” he said. “We lost our businesses and our health, and the waste still sitting there is a constant reminder. If the NIEA had given us a couple of years, we could have sorted it. Their actions cost us our livelihoods.”
Mr Anderson says he has lost at least £2 million, including around £600,000 in unpaid wages for work done after the quarry was sold in 2015.
“To this day none of the waste has been removed,” he added. “As neighbours to the site, we are affected by the sight of it and the memories it brings back, but also by the vermin and flies it attracts.”
The men say the NIEA has failed to take enforcement action since the quarry changed ownership. The site has been sold three times since 2015, most recently in 2023.
In response, the NIEA said the licence does not permit hazardous waste and that it is unaware of any being stored on the site. It also said there have been no recent reports of vermin or fly infestations and confirmed that the licence ‘remains valid’.
