NW appeal over A5 shelving

A high-powered delegation from the North West has appealed to the Dublin and Stormont governments to commit to the shelved A5 project.

The Irish Government announced last month that just £42m of the £400m promised would now be made available for the upgrade of the route - shelving the plans. Representatives from Derry, Donegal, Strabane, Omagh, Monaghan and Armagh attended a series of meetings in Belfast and Dublin last week to reiterate the importance of the A5 Western Transport Corridor from Derry to Aughnacloy and to discuss the implications of the postponement of funding for the major cross border project.

John Meehan, Deputy Town Clerk, who represented Derry City Council, said there was a strong message from the group to both the Irish and Stormont governments that they must commit to the A5 project.

He said there had been widespread disappointment at the decision by the Irish Government to postpone their funding and Derry City Council and its partners were keen to instill on both Governments the implications of the decision on the North West and cross border regions. He said: “The A5 dual carriageway scheme was about addressing the economic imbalance in terms of infrastructural investment in the North West region. This project would have had a huge impact for the region, helping to redress that imbalance and provide us with road links from our city to Dublin and help us improve trade, industry and tourism opportunities.”

The delegation met with the NI Minister for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy and outlined to him the need for the project to go ahead for the economic growth and development of the North West region. The following day, the delegation made a submission reinforcing the strategic importance of the A5/N2 project to the North West to the Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar.