Debate contribution: Storm Impact: A20 Portaferry Road

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 3 February 2026.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

3 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Storm Impact: A20 Portaferry Road

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5363244

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I thank Ms Armstrong for instigating this important debate. The impact of storms on the A20 is an important concern for Members across the Chamber. I have listened intently to the comments and issues that have been raised. When it comes to what you and your constituents are having to deal with, particularly in the aftermath of storms, the concerns are very clear. Since I was appointed as Minister a year ago today, I have been very focused on what I can do to improve people's lives because, for me, people are central to everything that we all — particularly my Department — do.

The Department's focus on weather-related preparedness activities is an important part of that. Those are aimed at reducing the potential adverse consequences of storms, particularly on our health and safety, economic activity and the environment. It is no secret that we continually operate in a constrained financial position. Without continued investment in our infrastructure it will be more difficult to do all that we need to do. However, I try to maximise what I am able to deliver with the budget and the resources available to me. As Members will be aware, following the restructuring of central government Departments in May 2016, my Department assumed the lead role in the strategic coordination of the response to severe weather emergencies and took responsibility for key functions, including working with other organisations to ensure that emergency preparations are as good as they can be and providing knowledge and expertise to inform the actions of any multi-agency response to severe weather emergencies. The frequency of extreme weather events — we had another one last week, and we have had warnings over the past couple of days of further potential events — has resulted in the need for ongoing, continuous improvement of our emergency response to weather events. With every incident, we are continually learning, and we are looking at what we can expect in future. There have been some excellent examples, and it is important to highlight where there was good work following storms Éowyn, Amy and Bram, which some Members have mentioned, when many roads were closed because of fallen trees and flooding. The staff in my Department work extremely hard to ensure that we are clearing obstructions and reopening roads as quickly as possible and that we work properly in cooperation with all the other organisations to ensure road-user safety. A lot of that work goes unseen, and it is important to highlight that, particularly as many of our staff potentially put themselves at risk when dealing with such incidents. We know that the storms continue to increase in frequency, and so does the risk to road safety and the associated disruption and cost, particularly on our coastal routes, which are more susceptible to the impact of high winds, as Members have explained, with sea walls being overtopped and the associated debris and flooding. Whilst we all have a responsibility to keep ourselves safe when we travel, we also appreciate our role in contributing to that responsibility, and that is important to me. The A20 is an essential feature of life for those who live on the Ards peninsula and the many thousands of people who use the road daily, including the Members who are here. It is also a popular tourist drive, and traffic volumes can be much higher in holiday periods and on summer weekends. As we all know, the road runs parallel to the shoreline at Strangford lough for a significant length. While that gives it a rich and beautiful character, it makes it particularly susceptible to the impact of storms, which we have seen manifested recently during and after storm Bram in December and, last week, when storm Chandra hit. I am very aware of the impacts of storms on road users on the A20 and on our coastal roads — on all roads — across council areas. We routinely review our response to storm events, and I am keen to take forward any actions for improvement that are within my Department's remit. A number of Members talked about the importance of closing the A20 in a managed way. It is important to outline the processes involved in that. Roads are closed in emergencies by the PSNI under article 32 powers on preventing danger to or from traffic or warning of an obstruction. The PSNI will place or direct the placement of signs to instruct traffic initially on-site. My Department's powers in relation to road closures extend to closures in a non-emergency capacity. However, we will also commit resources in support of PSNI closures, such as the closure of roads due to a road traffic collision or to provide a more robust closure in order to fully protect the travelling public. The Department also uses the TrafficWatchNI website, social media and variable-message signage to communicate closures, as far in advance as we can, to the travelling public. Traffic information and CCTV monitoring technology is used to assist in the management of any traffic disruption. Regular coordination meetings are held, particularly during storm events, in order to update partners and work alongside our partners, including the blue-light services, the Education Authority, Translink and councils. Those meetings are chaired by the PSNI in instances that have been assessed as "risk to life".

As I said, we are the lead Department for the strategic coordination of the overall emergency response to storm impacts on roads as well as the response to significant flooding, which is why that multi-agency response is so important and why pre-planned arrangements for a more coordinated response to severe weather warnings are critical. Once we receive a weather warning, officials in my Department assess the likely impact of the forecast conditions and take whatever steps they can to ensure that resources are in place to respond to incidents as quickly and as safely as possible. At times, my Department's response may involve working alongside multi-agency partners to maximise staff capacity to deal with all the potential impacts in advance and as we experience them. As I mentioned, we will get the messaging out as best we can. There is always ongoing work to decide when the best time to do that is, and, as I said, we are constantly reviewing messaging after every event to ensure that we improve and enhance our response. Following recent storms, there have been numerous reports of flooding, fallen trees and other obstructions that our out-of-hours contractor will help address. We have seen recently where issues have been quickly resolved. In addition, inspections of coastal defences have been undertaken, and, where damage was caused, emergency repairs have been done where possible, with other localised repairs programmed for the future. I will go into a wee bit more detail on that, because I know that Members are keen to hear what we have done and what we plan to do. As with everything, a lot of it can be budget-dependent. Any longer-term repairs come out of the structural maintenance budget, which covers overall roads maintenance. My Department is responsible for maintaining the road/sea line boundary with Strangford lough, including the supporting element for the road, which is the retaining-type structures. The current arrangements for the boundary between the carriageway and the sea along the A20 are varied. The main feature is a masonry sea wall, separated from the carriageway by a narrow grass verge, typically ranging in width from about half a metre to a metre. The boundary is largely a masonry wall, ranging in height from 0·3 metres to 0·7 metres. On occasion, as Members will be aware, storm damage has led to rock armour being placed behind the wall in the more exposed areas. In addition, there are areas of rock armour separated from the carriageway by a verge, although that verge tends to be significantly wider at such locations. As I said, numerous reactive repairs have been carried out to coastal defences in recent years following the ongoing damage that has been caused, primarily during the storms that we have mentioned. That spend equates to about £173,700 over the past five years. After storm Bram, however, we identified approximately £650,000 worth of damage to the coastal defences in the County Down area. The cost of repairs and clean-up is expected to be in the region of £650,000. The sea defences immediately adjacent to the carriageway are often maintained as part of the road network, which is why repair costs come out of the structural maintenance budget, and are frequently an integral part of the road structure. That tends not to be the case where the sea defences form part of other structures such as a harbour. Where erosion threatens the road structure, DFI will monitor the threat and seek the most appropriate remedy in partnership with other bodies. The carriageway not only functions as a means of access that is vital for economic, social and educational activity but facilitates critical infrastructure such as our water, sewers, power and telecommunications. Managed retreat, particularly for A-class roads such as the A20, is therefore not deemed appropriate.

No, I am nearly done. There have been several requests to install a crash barrier. There is, however, also the desire to keep the open nature of the vista from the road over Strangford lough. We can clearly see the competing issues that we have, and a range of bodies is involved. Members mentioned the coastal forum, and I was pleased that we were able to reinstate its meetings just before Christmas. Minister Muir and I co-chaired the meeting of the forum just before Christmas, and I look forward to its work programme continuing. Very quickly, I will address a few other points. I am happy to respond in writing on anything that I have not been able to cover in detail. Flood protection measures, which Harry Harvey mentioned, and gully cleaning form part of our ongoing work on flood management and of our routine maintenance to try to get ahead of some things as best we can. Members will know that the feasibility of a bridge has been looked at. Like anything, we can keep that under review. A significant cost has been suggested: I think that the figure is in and around £300 million and potentially more. When we look at the likes of Narrow Water bridge, however, we see that not all such things remain a pipe dream. If there is good support and a strong economic case for it, why not? I am happy to keep that under review, albeit it is budget-dependent. I thank Ms Armstrong for bringing the Adjournment debate to the House and all the Members who contributed to it. I will continue to work alongside all my Executive colleagues to get additional investment so that we can be more prepared in the future and deal with the issues that have arisen. I am grateful to Members for the conciliatory tone of the debate, and I look forward to working with you all going forward.

1,848 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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