Officials 'Must Be Held Accountable' Over A5

The DUP's Chair of the Regional Development Committee Jimmy Spratt has said that officials need to be "held accountable" following a judge's decision not to allow the A5 development scheme to go ahead.

Yesterday, Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy said he would not be appealing the ruling, made by Mr Justice Stephens.

"The Judge took the view that a fuller assessment of the impact of the A5 proposals on the rivers Foyle and Finn Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) should have been carried out," Minister Kennedy said.

"I now intend to have a more comprehensive assessment conducted. When this is completed I will consider the matter further."

But Jimmy Spratt said: "Many will question why there was a flaw in the original application process and will rightly expect officials to be held accountable for this failure."

Mr Spratt said he sympathised with landowners following the decision.

"The key issue for the Department is now to communicate with landowners; so far that communication seems to have been non-existent. Landowners are understandably angry that they have had no access to their land since 11 September 2012 but, in many cases, are yet to receive any compensation or indeed any indication of the level of compensation.

"I understand that the Minister has ring-fenced money for this project. It is vital that there is now proper management of this allocation to ensure the Northern Ireland budget does not lose financially from this decision. I trust that Minister Kennedy is engaging with DFP for advice on this matter."

Ulster Unionist Economy spokesperson Sandra Overend says the money set aside for the A5 scheme should be prioritised for other road projects to "boost the struggling construction industry".

"Due to the fact that the A5 project cannot go ahead as planned for legal reasons, it is of utmost importance that the money is reprioritised for other road projects to boost the construction industry at this most difficult of times," she said.

"There are a number of 'procurement ready' projects and I would urge the Executive to pursue and develop these going forward and give the construction industry the support it desperately needs."

Sinn Féin Regional Development Minister described the decision not to appeal the court ruling as "a costly mistake".

"The fact that despite millions of pounds being paid to consultants on this project, there was a gross lack of oversight by the Department of Regional development who should have identified the issues raised in the court judgement is an indictment of the minister.

"However, this is an Executive project that can still be a huge benefit to the local economy. Well accepted figures from the Institute of Civil Engineering state that for every £1 invested in infrastructure £2.84 is generated in economic activity. In these terms this project is worth £1bn and an estimated 10,000 jobs."

Foyle SDLP MLA Mark Durkan said: "While we regret the court ruling on the A5 and the Minister’s subsequent decision not to appeal it, it is imperative that we do all that we can to ensure this money is retained to improve infrastructure and connectivity in and around the North West.

"Under the previous Regional Development Minister the Derry-Belfast road improvement was deprioritised but much of the preparatory work has been done on this scheme and it should now be capitalised upon.

"Not only will the improvement of the A6 improve the quality of life for thousands of commuters to Belfast, it will make Derry more attractive to investors and more accessible to tourists."

(IT/CD)