Cornshell Fields residents wait almost two years for roadworks

Colr. Duffy said: “I have been campaigning for the resurfacing of Cornshell Fields for almost two years. The road is one of the worst examples of a road surface in Derry, with taxi men stating they are reluctant to lift people as they are constantly having their cars damaged.

“Local residents are severely out of pocket with repairs to their vehicles and have actually got to the point that some are no longer claiming off the Department for Infrastructure(DfI) as it is happening all too often.

“We had movement on this and it was agreed that the road would be resurfaced in September. Unfortunately, there seems to have been a misunderstanding between Firmus, Apex and DFI, which I was quickly able to resolve by speaking to each agency and clarifying Apex’s plans regarding gas installation. I believe if the DfI had carried out the same tic tacking I did between the various organisations we would not be in this situation.

“I completely understand the pressures on Department for Infrastructure regarding their budgets and requests for road assessments and upgrades, but the people of Cornshell Fields have been more than patient in waiting for this work to be carried out.

“I would like to thank the Department for confirming that Cornshell is still a high priority for them, but unless the work is completed this will not help the residents here as they face into another winter.

A Departmental spokesperson said: “The resurfacing of Cornshell Fields is on the Department’s programme for resurfacing, however, the works had to be postponed due to proposed gas installation works. Subject to the availability of finance, the resurfacing works will be reprogrammed once the situation concerning the gas installation becomes clear.”