Debate contribution: Road Infrastructure: Craigavon Area Hospital

Debate contribution by Mr Eóin Tennyson on 25 March 2025.

MLA

Mr Eóin Tennyson

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

25 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Road Infrastructure: Craigavon Area Hospital

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4866978

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I add my thanks to Mr Beattie for securing this important debate. I will not speak at length, because, in what is a rare event in the Chamber, I think that we are all singing off the same hymn sheet on many of these issues, which marks a nice change. Like MLA colleagues, I have engaged for some time with the trust, the developer and residents on the secondary entrance to Craigavon Area Hospital that has been proposed as a mechanism to improve the road infrastructure around one of the busiest hospitals in Northern Ireland. As has been said, anybody who accesses Craigavon Area Hospital or lives nearby and commutes in the area will know about the daily build-up of traffic for anyone trying to access the main roundabout at the front of the hospital. That causes concern about access, particularly for emergency vehicles. Helpfully, Mr Beattie set out the wider context of some of the evolution that has happened in the area since the plans were tabled for changes to local education provision, including Craigavon Senior High School and the relocation of Portadown Integrated Nursery and Primary School. I welcome those plans, but there are issues with them that need to be worked through. Craigavon is one of the fastest-growing residential areas in Northern Ireland. That is a real strength of the area and its community, but it comes with challenges for local infrastructure and services. I will add to that another layer of change: the often-touted redevelopment of Craigavon Area Hospital. I do not want to delve too much into that, because we have a notice of motion on it that will come before the Assembly in a number of weeks. It is another factor that we have to consider when it comes to any changes to access. We also, of course, have to consider the Health Minister's commitment to the transformation of our health service. Craigavon is an important asset as part of the wider network of hospitals, so we could see change coming to Craigavon Area Hospital, which may be in the form of additional services or whatever else that might be. We need to plan for that and account for it when we assess any alleviation scheme. I recognise that the proposed purpose of the secondary entrance is to alleviate pressure from the main road with the new roundabout at the end of the Lisnisky Crescent development and a new staff entrance being created. From my engagement with the trust, I know that it is very supportive of that secondary entrance. To date, the expectation has been that that entrance would be progressed as part of phase 1 of the long-awaited hospital redevelopment. With that being uncertain, I am curious where we are with regard to any steps forward. In response to, I think, a question for written answer from Mr Beattie, the Department recently confirmed that the project was effectively "shelf ready" but that it was waiting for confirmation from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and the developer that funds were in place for it to proceed. That may be the factual position, but, given the constraints on the trust's budget, it causes me concern that they are effectively being told that the ball is in their court and we are not seeing huge leadership. Where there are numerous bodies and statutory agencies involved, we often see issues fall between two stools. I am keen to hear from the Minister about how she intends to address that issue of cooperation and collaboration between the various agencies. Consulting residents is critical. If you speak to residents on the existing Lisnisky Lane, a lot of them will tell you that they bought properties in the area on the promise that traffic would be rerouted through the Lisnisky Crescent link. Equally, if you speak to residents in Lisnisky Crescent, you will find that some bought their property at the outset but felt that it was not communicated clearly to them that the changes were going to happen. Other families who moved in were, due to the passage of time, simply not aware that the plans existed. That has created real tension, even among some residents who have different views on some of the issues. There are two things that we need to do: look carefully at the proposed alleviation scheme and understand whether, given the current context of all the changes that have happened, that is still the right scheme.

I do not want us to be in a position where we develop new access and then suddenly, with the redevelopment of the hospital, it has to be torn up and done again, with all the disruption that that would cause for local residents. We also need to ensure that someone takes responsibility for engaging proactively with the local residents. I do not mean simply having a box-ticking exercise around a planning application; there needs to be meaningful engagement with the community so that it understands what the plans are and how any issues are going to be resolved. With the estate around Lisnisky Crescent operating as it has done for such a long time, families have got used to that being a dead end. Kids are often out playing on what will be the new main road. I can understand families' concerns, now that they are part of a settled community with the current roads infrastructure.

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. It is a potential risk. There has to be a solution. Some form of alleviation scheme will have to be put in place. However, we need assurances that it is going to be the right one, that it will work and that it will not have unintended consequences, given the changes that have happened in the local area. Even if many families moved in on the understanding that a main arterial route was going to go through the middle of their housing development, now that they have lived there for so long with the current situation, it is going to be very difficult, particularly for younger children, to adapt to that. It needs to be thought through really carefully, because there are potential unintended consequences.

I will, indeed, yes.

1,035 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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