Only most severe road defects to be repaired due to budget challenges, Derry & Strabane reps told

In an annual report during a special meeting of the Council’s Business and Culture Committee on Thursday, October 20, DfI Divisional Roads Manager Daniel Healey said that delivery of services has been challenging for the department in the last few years due to budgetary reasons.

He said the Secretary of State’s budget for DfI Roads included a 14% reduction compared to the last financial year, which will negatively affect their ability to deliver the ‘level of service expected by the public’.

Mr Healey said the initial allocation, of around £85 million across all of NI, was welcome, but falls short of the £143 million required annually to maintain and support the road network.

Due to the cuts, the DfI will implement a limited services policy across activities, meaning that only the most severe defects can be repaired.

"I know many Councillors have contacted us to question the suitability of this policy,” Mr Healey said. “We’re not implementing it because we think it’s a good way to maintain our roads or good practice, but to work within the budget allocated to us.”

“As road engineers we’re acutely aware of the potential long term detrimental effect poor road conditions can have on people and our infrastructure, making it more expensive to maintain our roads in the future.

"However, we’re managing the network as best we can to minimise the safety risks and stay within the budget which is currently very challenging.”

Mr Healey briefed the council on last year’s maintenance work, which included the resurfacing of 39 kilometres of roads and 5.3 kilometres of footways, and a significant number of safety schemes like traffic cameras and speed restrictions.

Derg Sinn Féin Councillor Ruairi McHugh, who chaired the meeting, said the cuts were ‘concerning’ and reiterated the importance of Northern Ireland having their own central government to access funds.

Waterside SDLP Councillor Martin Reilly said the Council was delighted to see the reopening of the A6, which was ‘generations overdue’, but appreciated that there’s still work to be done.

Foyleside People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said a proper infrastructure was needed for an economy to thrive, and expressed concern about the ‘incredible gap’ between the allotted money and the required budget.

He said: ‘We have to think about ways to put pressure on the Secretary of State to demand urgent funding and an end to the cuts’.

By Andrew Balfour

Local Democracy Reporter