Plan to tackle town's decades-old traffic 'chokehold'

A public inquiry is examining a decades-old plan to tackle traffic problems on one of Mid Ulster’s busiest roads.

The A29, said to be one of Northern Ireland's longest main streets, runs through the centre of Cookstown.

Many businesses are in favour of a bypass and some local representatives have described traffic during busy periods as having a "chokehold" on the County Tyrone town.

But concerns are still being raised by some residents whose homes will be impacted, as well as farms that are set to lose acres of land.

Questions also remain over where the £70m needed to fund the scheme will come from.

The A29 road connects Coleraine to Cookstown, Dungannon and onwards to Armagh City. It carries up to 16,000 vehicles per day.

Throughout this week supporters and objectors have the opportunity to outline their views on the proposed scheme at the public inquiry in the Glenavon Hotel.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) says a bypass would reduce the risk of collisions, improve air quality and attract more visitors and shoppers to the town.

Under the plans, the carriageway would be about 2.5 miles (4km), extending from the A29 Dungannon Road roundabout to the south of Cookstown.

Jimmy Doris from Cookstown, is set to lose 16 acres of land as part of the vesting process to build the bypass.

Vesting is a compulsory purchase with the landowners being paid the market value for their property.

They can also receive compensation if the value of their remaining land is negatively impacted or if they suffer disturbance.

He said: "This is having a serious impact on my farm. There are about three or four fields being severed and the farm will be within 100yds (91m) of the new bypass.

"There is also a big impact along the front of our house, because there will be a vast increase in traffic and we'll have difficulty getting out of the drive way, so the whole thing has been a crisis for us."

His sister, Ellen Doris, also has property that will be affected.

She said: "I'm going to lose part of my front garden.

"The bypass will be at one side of the property, so I'm worried about the fumes, noise and disruption.

"I would have walked to Cookstown, but with the bypass now there is very little provision for pedestrians."

Concerns had previously been raised about the effect the proposed bypass would have on land near an historic castle.

One of the longest standing critics of the scheme, a local golf club, has recently withdrawn its opposition.

A spokesperson for Killymoon Golf Club confirmed the move to BBC News NI ahead of the public inquiry.

Club captain Anthony McCann said: “We initially objected because of the significant physical impact on the course.

“But negotiations have been ongoing and as of this week, we have withdrawn our objection and we believe that going forward there is the goodwill there that we will get a financial settlement.

"That will suit us as a golf club.”

Johnny Finch owns a number of businesses in Cookstown and two of his shops sit at either end of the main street.

He said it could take him up to 50 minutes to travel a mile between these stores because of heavy traffic.

Mr Finch said: "I very much support the bypass, but there's no doubt it will bring disruption to many businesses during the construction, including my own.

"But I realise the benefit at the end of it all is self-evident. It's just that interim period of building, which will be a considerable length of time, and how it impacts those businesses."

Mid Ulster UUP councillor Trevor Wilson believes a bypass for Cookstown is long overdue.

He said: “This bypass would be an absolute gamechanger. Anybody that has driven through Cookstown will know that it is completely choked with traffic most of the time.

“All we can do is keep lobbying to make sure we find all of the money needed and the Mid South West Region Growth Deal is key to that.”

Concerns over funding for the scheme have arisen after a decision by the UK government last month to pause some city deals for Northern Ireland.

Part of the funding was due to come from the Mid South West Region Growth Deal, which is currently on hold.

But earlier this month, the Stormont executive reaffirmed its funding commitment to the growth deal and said that £43m was still secure.

In terms of the remaining funding, a DfI spokesperson said it was dependent on the successful completion of the processes and availability of funding.