Debate contribution: North Down Road Network: Investment
Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on .
- MLA
- Ms Liz Kimmins
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 1 April 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- North Down Road Network: Investment
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4877245
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
I thank Mr Martin for securing this important debate on his concerns about a lack of investment in the road network in North Down. I also thank Stephen Dunne, Alan Chambers and Connie Egan. I have listened intently to all the comments and issues that have been raised by Members tonight, and I have heard them loud and clear. As a constituency MLA, I can relate to everything that has been said. That brings us back to the point that, while it is an issue for constituency MLAs for North Down, it is familiar to all elected reps throughout the North. Maintaining roads and investing in new roads is critical in ensuring the safe movement of people and goods in order to allow economic growth, and that has been highlighted in the debate alongside the broader issue of road safety. I stress that we could have all the roads that we wanted in the North if we had the money to deliver that. Without funding, our roads will continue to deteriorate, as we have seen, particularly over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, that poses a safety risk and impedes economic movement. Members will be all too familiar with the fact that, like other Departments, my Department has been operating in a difficult financial environment for a number of years due to the underfunding and austerity that has been imposed on us by the British Government. That has created significant challenges to our ability to maintain our road network in a safe condition. I share the frustrations about the inconveniences that that causes at times for everyone whom we represent. People in our communities rely on the road network to do business, to go to work, to go to school and to connect to one another.
Whilst my officials have worked extremely hard to maintain the road network, they have been forced to concentrate on only the highest-priority road repairs. As a result, we have all seen a continued deterioration over the past 10 years. We have operated a limited service due to the funding constraints, with large numbers of potholes and other defects developing across the road network, particularly after periods of very wet or cold weather, which, as you are aware, have become more frequent in recent years. The estimated value of the funding shortfall — the difference between what was needed to maintain the network and what was actually available to be spent — from 2014 to 2024 was approximately £1 billion. On average, it would have taken an additional £100 million in the budget each year to try to bring it up to where we would like it to be. That figure can be compared with the £25 million cost of compensation claims for damaged cars that some Members mentioned. We are still well off what is needed to bring our roads up to the standard that we all expect. It is important to outline that because this is not going to be an easy fix, not just in North Down but across the North. The Executive agreed the 2024-25 Budget, and the funding has been best used to target road resurfacing. In the 2024-25 financial year, £104 million was allocated, as Members outlined, to capital structure and maintenance, which includes resurfacing. That figure included £12·5 million of the £19 million that was secured at October 2024 monitoring by my colleague and predecessor, John O'Dowd, for essential road maintenance and street lighting work. As in previous years, during the 2024-25 financial year, total capital funding in the southern division, which includes North Down, was significant, delivering over £25 million of infrastructure investment. Many Members outlined their concerns around allocations. Funding allocations for road maintenance are made on the basis of need, which aims to ensure, as far as practicable, an equitable distribution of funds across the North. I can assure Members that the Ards and North Down Borough Council area receives a fair and proportionate share of the funding that is made available to my Department for road maintenance. Whilst the budget for 2024-25 remains challenging, my Department continues to prioritise key essential services, ensuring delivery of the highest priority resurfacing, roadside stability and drainage projects. Regrettably, the resource funding position is equally challenging and will mean continuing with a limited service for road maintenance and targeting the highest-priority defects to protect public safety. The main strategic road network in the Ards and North Down area is in relatively good condition. That network consists of the A2 Bangor to Belfast road; the A21 Bangor to Newtownards road; the A20 Newtownards to Strangford road; and the A20 Newtownards to Belfast road. The B511 Groomsport Road and the B109 Clandeboye Road are being monitored for potential resurfacing, but that will be subject to funding being available. My officials are monitoring the condition of roads on the Ards peninsula and will take opportunities for those also based on funding being available. We all know the challenges of keeping the network in good condition. As I said, I know, from my constituency role, how important that is to the people whom we represent. All of us are road users too, so we see the challenges day and daily. It is time that we tried something different. Stephen Dunne referred to a new approach to road maintenance, and that is one of my foundational priorities for the Department. I have asked my officials to consider new approaches to road maintenance, focusing on improving the road network's overall condition, while making the best use of the limited funding and resources in a way that balances safety and value for money. It should be data driven; supported by sound engineering judgement; and address the problem in a meaningful and sustainable manner. I take Alan Chambers's point that the approach of filling potholes may miss some. Hopefully, we can deliver on those things as part of this. As I have said, officials are working on a new road maintenance strategy that will be considered in detail in the coming weeks. We aim to focus on delivering higher-quality repairs instead of spreading resources too thinly, so as to ensure a more reliable and safer road network where we intervene. That is being piloted in two areas across the North, including the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. We will use modern technology to direct our investments to where they are needed most, ensuring smarter maintenance decisions. We will future-proof our roads to meet the changing needs of society, including for active travel, reducing the carbon footprint of our operations and ensuring that the network is resilient after adverse weather events. The value of our infrastructure cannot be overstated. I will continue to work with Executive colleagues to ensure that appropriate investment is made to improve the quality of our road network and to contribute to the delivery of the priorities set out in the agreed Programme for Government. I am aware that traffic can build up in parts of the Ards and North Down Borough Council area for short periods at peak times, which is consistent with traffic patterns and conditions in many of our towns and cities across the North. My Department's transport strategy and suite of transport plans will set priorities for the future development of the road and rail networks up to 2035. The strategy will also outline how my Department is working to address challenges such as congestion, the climate emergency and transport safety. I am keen to promote and encourage the use of sustainable transport modes such as walking, cycling and public transport as an alternative to the private car. My officials are reviewing the submissions received as part of the public consultation on the Department's draft active travel delivery plan, which concluded on 28 February this year. I thank everyone who took the time to respond, as their responses will lead to my finalisation of the delivery plan. The main settlements in North Down are Bangor city, Holywood and Donaghadee. As Mr Dunne mentioned, I recently attended the commencement of works on the Newtownards to Green Road, Bangor greenway that are due to be completed by late autumn of this year. The project's total value is £5·6 million, with my Department covering half of the cost by committing £2·8 million to that important project. I look forward to seeing it delivered and to further expansion, as there is a proposal to extend existing active travel measures on Green Road, north of the junction of Green Road and the greenway, to the A21 Newtownards Road, and there is potential to provide active travel measures along the Newtownards Road from Green Road to Abbey Street. The next stage is to develop an options and feasibility report. It is my intention that further projects will be delivered in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area to encourage and enable safe, active and sustainable travel choices. I will refer to some more points that Members raised. Mr Martin, who secured the Adjournment debate, referenced a pedestrian crossing. I know that that project has not happened owing to funding constraints, but I hope that it can be taken forward in the 2025-26 financial year. We will keep him updated on that. A number of Members highlighted other specific roads and areas, and I will also ask officials to provide updates on them. Although it happens all the time anyway, I urge Members to continue to report specific issues with things such as road markings and gully cleaning to the section office so that they can be actioned. That local intelligence is important, as Mr Chambers said. It is crucial to ensuring that, where possible, we can deal with issues at the earliest stage. I thank Peter Martin for securing the debate and all the Members for their contributions. I reiterate that the value of our infrastructure cannot be overstated. Long-term underinvestment in our roads is impacting on our infrastructure's integrity, leading to the slow deterioration with which we are all too familiar, particularly on rural roads. That is not what the public or my Department and I want to see, so I will continue to work vigorously alongside my Executive colleagues to secure the investment that is needed to maintain and improve the quality of our road network for the people of the North. I take the opportunity to remind everyone that, when using our roads, we all have a personal responsibility to behave in a way that keeps us and others safe. One of the best ways in which we will be able to fulfil our long-term goal of eliminating death and serious injury on our roads by 2050 is by changing road user behaviour. The sad reality is that, if we do not change our attitudes when we use the roads, our death toll will continue to increase. I thank Members for their contributions this evening.
1,822 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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