Northern Ireland

A5 scheme 'may be in trouble' following damning planning report

Road signage on the main Derry to Strabane road also known as the A5. File picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Road signage on the main Derry to Strabane road also known as the A5. File picture by Margaret McLaughlin Road signage on the main Derry to Strabane road also known as the A5. File picture by Margaret McLaughlin

Northern Ireland's biggest single road scheme - the A5 - may be "in a bit of trouble" following a damning planning report, a roads expert has said.

A public inquiry into the A5 is due to re-open again early next year after the Planning Appeals Commission recommended that more work needs to be done on assessing potential flood risks and other major concerns.

The move means that the project could be delayed for another two years.

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The A5 scheme, first agreed 14 years ago, would see 53 miles of new trunk road between Newbuildings in Co Derry and Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone.

The scheme, set to cost more than £1bn, is one of the Executive's key infrastructure priorities.

But it has faced strong opposition and legal challenges from the Alternative A5 Alliance - a group of farmers, landowners and environmentalists opposed to the vesting of land for the scheme.

Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon said yesterday a public inquiry into the scheme is due to re-open next year, as recommended by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC).

Ms Mallon has published a report from the PAC into the project.

The report recommended further consultation on flood risks and proposed alternatives to the scheme.

Infrastructure officials are due to prepare further documents for consultation in early autumn.

Ms Mallon said she is keen for the road scheme to progress as quickly as possible.

"The A5 is an absolute priority for me as a strategic road," she said.

"It will open up connectivity in the North West and the rest of our island, ensure safer travel for communities and deliver opportunities for our local economy."

The A5 scheme has faced many delays since it was agreed in 2007
The A5 scheme has faced many delays since it was agreed in 2007 The A5 scheme has faced many delays since it was agreed in 2007

Roads expert Wesley Johnston said the PAC report was "was really quite damning of DfI (Department for Infrastructure)".

"There's a whole range of criticisms about the planning process and environmental considerations... I wasn't expecting it to be in that tone," he said.

"But in light of that report I think a delay is inevitable. You're talking at least one to two years I would have thought."

He said the report's author felt the DfI had not taken key issues into consideration.

"They didn't adequately address climate change in terms of flood risk... and they hadn't adequately taken into account the impact of a scheme like this on climate generally," he said.

"Also he felt that they hadn't adequately explored alternatives - a smaller scale scheme involving by-passes of main towns."

Mr Johnson said that the report found that a proposed stretch of road south of Ballygawley to the border "made no sense and should be abandoned".

He said the A5 had faced "considerable delays" for more than a decade and "may be in a bit of trouble at this point".

"In some ways the world is moving on around this," he said.

He added: "It will go ahead if the politicians are determined it will go ahead... what shape it will be is open to question. It's possible it will be scaled down, potentially even involving just the stretch between Omagh to Strabane with by-passes on either side."

A renewed commitment to the A5 formed part of the New Decade New Approach deal which saw the restoration of Stormont in January last year.

The transport corridor is also among key north-south initiatives being progressed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s Shared Island Unit, first unveiled by the coalition government in June last year.

Sinn Féin MP Órfhlaith Begley expressed "shock and massive disappointment" at news of the re-opening of a public inquiry.

"Given that a full year has passed since the completion of the last limited public inquiry and given that it was widely expected that the minister would finally announce a decision to proceed with Phase 1 of the project this decision leaves us further back than ever," she said.