Badly needed works at Kingsfort begin

Mr Durkan has been lobbying the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) for several years for essential repair of the roads in and around the estate.

The Foyle MLA commented: “I am pleased that the badly needed and long-awaited resurfacing of Kingsfort is finally underway.

“The road network in the estate was woeful to put it mildly, littered with potholes throughout and had fallen into a state of disrepair following years of neglect.

“I have been contacted countless times by residents of the area about the extremely poor condition of these roads.”

He said stop-gap repairs had been conducted in the estate off the Culmore Road in the past but he said he is delighted a full resurfacing programme is now in train.

“On my request temporary remedial works on larger potholes had been carried out intermittently over the years.

“However, this band-aid for a broken arm approach was clearly unsustainable and I was pleased that after years of lobbying for a full resurfacing, the department agreed to include Kingsfort Park in their resurfacing programme for 2020/2021.

“Despite initial setbacks caused by the outbreak of the pandemic, I was assured in August by the Roads Service, that improvement works for Kingsfort would begin early 2021.

“So, it is great to see they have now begun ahead of schedule. Residents will no doubt be relieved to finally have fit for purpose roads without the constant worry of avoiding innumerable potholes,” he said.