Debate contribution: Infrastructure: Castlereagh South
Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on .
- MLA
- Ms Paula Bradshaw
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 21 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- Infrastructure: Castlereagh South
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5197811
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank my Alliance Party colleague, Kate Nicholl, for securing today's Adjournment debate. I have represented South Belfast since 2016, and it has been such a joy to see the Castlereagh South area flourish during that time. We have seen retailers, small traders and hospitality businesses go from strength to strength, meeting the needs of the growing population. Membership of sports clubs, such as Newtownbreda Football Club, Carryduff Colts and Carryduff GAC, is growing and bringing people together to play, volunteer and socialise. Community organisations, such as Killynure Community Association, Carryduff Regeneration Forum and the Four Winds Community Group, all work with the statutory authorities, the council, the police and, of course, our elected reps to improve their local neighbourhoods. The schools are welcoming and inclusive, and they work collaboratively and effortlessly every day. Lastly, we have an area that is blessed with proactive and engaging church communities that do sterling work in creating community cohesion, giving local residents a sense of common purpose and addressing issues such as loneliness and poverty. Kate and I had a lovely morning just this weekend at the Cornerstone Methodist Church, which was making fundraising efforts for Chest, Heart and Stroke. They do great work not just for the community but for local charities. Castlereagh South is an area to be envied. Its wards are ranked amongst the least deprived in Northern Ireland; in fact, the Carryduff West ward is the second least deprived. It has a healthy mix of people from different backgrounds, socio-economic groups and ethnicities. Some people have lived there for a lifetime and are now enjoying their retirement in their mature and well-manicured gardens, living cheek by jowl with families who have recently moved into beautiful new homes across the large number of housing schemes that have transformed Castlereagh South. The consequences of the growing population in the Castlereagh South area are being borne by the people who live there. As has been mentioned, there are huge pressures on the road infrastructure. Most of the Members who have spoken so far have mentioned the south Belfast rapid transit route. I really would appreciate some clarity and information on that from the Minister this evening. On the public transport issue, my colleague Kate Nicholl raised the issue of regularity of buses. Sometimes they do not turn up, and sometimes the information for commuters is out of date, both of which can be frustrating. However, that is just part of it. When we were out engaging with residents on Saturday morning, I spoke to a man who lives in Beechill Park Avenue, who said that he just wants to be able to walk to the Forestside area with his family but that his only route is down the Saintfield Road, where the speed of the cars and the urban grey jungle make it unappealing. I very much concur with others on the need to see progress on the Carryduff greenway. That would not be just for people who want to get to the shops but — again, the issue has been raised — for young families who want to encourage their children to walk and cycle to school. We need to see more work around trying to get our roads connected. Linked to that is the perennial issue of speeding. Newton Park, Purdysburn Road and Cairnshill Road are three routes that are regularly raised with us as areas of concern. Yes, the police and community safety partnership (PCSP) moves the speed indicator devices (SIDs) around, and, for a while, people adjust their driving, but it is not long before they start speeding up again, so that is an issue of concern. Matthew O'Toole raised the recent consultation on potential public realm works in Carryduff. The proposals are great. We need to be ambitious in their delivery, not just for cosmetic improvements but to address the public safety issues that remain there. My colleague Councillor Bronagh Magee is working to ensure that there is a permitted route from the beautiful Lisnabreeny National Trust site in the Castlereagh hills. A new development is going to happen at Mount Ober, and she is trying to make sure that there is a permitted route through that development. Minister, you should maybe think about that as a policy area to ensure that, where there are new housing developments on the green belt, people are allowed to remain and have access to the green fields and beyond. With your indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to put on record some infrastructure issues that are not within the purview of the Infrastructure Minister. There is the need for a new swimming pool at Lough Moss. I know that the councillors will be given some options, but the people of Castlereagh South deserve that. We have only one post-primary school in the DEA: Breda Academy. We need to see more post-primary schools, not least — this is an Alliance Party ambition — an integrated one. Lastly, the broader issue of access to public services needs to be included in the debate, because we have far more families and far more businesses etc and are not keeping pace with the provision of GP practices and other health and social care provision. In summary, we need to keep pace with the growing population. There is a role there for central and local government. We need to ensure that the needs of individuals and their families are met.
905 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.89).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Education structures, integration and community division.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.89 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.39 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.39 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.12 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.05 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.03 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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