Other News In Brief

Work To Start On Drumahoe To Dungiven Section Of A6 Road Upgrade

Work on the Drumahoe to Dungiven section of the A6 road upgrade is to begin on Wednesday, 26 September.

Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion welcomed the announcement.

She said: "Work is already well underway on other sections of the A6 and when completed, this road upgrade will reduce journey times between Derry and Belfast which is vital for growing our economy and increasing connectivity.

"It will also make it much easier for visitors and tourists to travel to the city.

"This has been made possible because of the work to take this vital infrastructure project forward carried out by Chris Hazzard as Infrastructure Minister.

"This, along with other key infrastructure projects such as the A5 and the transport hub at the old Waterside train station, will all enhance this city and district for locals and others."

FP McCann To Deliver Lissue Stream Flood Alleviation Scheme

FP McCann has been appointed to deliver a new flood alleviation project near Lisburn.

The Lissue Stream Flood Alleviation Scheme is designed to reduce the risk of flooding from the existing watercourse, to a predominately industrial/commercial area with a history of flooding.

Key features will include;

• Building reinforced concrete flood retaining walls

• Installing a new precast concrete box culvert

• 1,800mm dia Pipeline together with various chambers

• Other miscellaneous works.

Alliance Hits Out At Govt Over Changes To Passport Rules

Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong has criticised the UK Government after it confirmed an under the radar change to passport rules.

Until recently, when a person renewed their passport, any time remaining on the existing document would be added to the new one, up to a maximum of nine months. However, from last week, renewed passports will now be valid from the date of issue for ten years, so any unused months will be lost.

"Many countries require you to have up to six months left on your passport when entering," said Ms Armstrong.

"Until last week, any remaining months on your passport would have been added to your new one. But now there is no point applying early for a passport, as people will lose those extra months and effectively lose money. It makes more sense to now leave your renewal as late as possible, which will lead to massive backlogs.

"The UK Government has confirmed this is part of preparations for a no-deal Brexit, bringing this major change in extremely quietly with no public announcement.

"It is inevitably going to mean some people will find they don't have enough validity remaining on their passport when they try to enter certain countries, leading to confusion and a negative impact on those with British passports."

(CD/CM)