Judge vows to deal with A5 legal challenge promptly

There will be "no delay" in dealing with a fresh legal challenge lodged against the A5 road upgrade, a High Court judge has said.

The 58-mile (85km) road project between Londonderry and Aughnacloy was first announced back in 2007, but has been beset by a number of delays.

The £1.2bn project was given the green light by Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd last month, following the completion of a third public inquiry in 2023.

A group of residents and landowners began judicial review proceedings against the dual carriageway scheme on Tuesday and Mr Justice McAlinden confirmed that he is ready to clear his diary to hear the case.

“It’s important we get this dealt with as quickly as possible,” Mr Justice McAlinden said on Tuesday.

“There will be no delay in relation to this matter… I will make sure I’m free to deal with it.”

The A5 is a vital artery of the Northern Ireland road network. More than 58 miles (94km) long, it has more than 200 side roads connecting to it.

The road is single carriageway for most of its length, with overtaking lanes in some sections.

It links Derry with Aughnacloy in County Tyrone and passes through towns like Sion Mills, Omagh and Strabane.

It connects with the A4 road, linking to Belfast via the M1.

It is also the main north-south route in the west of Northern Ireland, providing a link between County Donegal and Dublin, via the N2 in County Monaghan.

The road has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s, with the exception of some town bypasses, but there has been a huge rise in the number of cars, lorries and agricultural vehicles using it since it was first built.

Official statistics show there has been about a 10% increase in traffic on the road in the last 10 years alone. An increase of about 30% is forecast over the next 25 years.

With 57 deaths recorded on the A5 since 2006, campaigners have demanded improvements to be carried out.

Work on the first phase of the 53-mile stretch of road is currently due to begin early in 2025.

The scheme, which forms part of a proposed key cross-border business route linking Dublin and the north west, has already been held up by previous legal actions.

Fresh proceedings have now been brought by nine individuals against the Department for Infrastructure (DfI).

They claim the decision to begin the initial phase breaches legislative goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in Northern Ireland.

The Climate Change (NI) Act 2022 contains a series of interim targets moving towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to lawyers representing the group, approving part of the A5 scheme is irrational and an unlawful breach of the Climate Change Act.

Further grounds of challenge allege a breach of planning regulations; a breach of habitats regulations by failing to take an appropriately precautionary approach to the impact on the Tully Bog conservation area; a failure to further consult the public; and a breach of the group’s Article 8 human rights.

The court also heard that the applicants are seeking a protective costs order which would impose a cap on any legal bill.

None of them attended the preliminary hearing to timetable the case on Tuesday.

Paul McLaughlin KC, for the DfI, made clear that the legal action will be resisted.

“The instructions of the minister [John O'Dowd] are to oppose the challenge, and to do so as expeditiously as the court can allow,” he said.

Adjourning proceedings until next week, Mr Justice McAlinden assured the parties: “I will clear whatever dates you agree, move other cases and get [another judge] to deal with them.”