Stage 1 of the Inquiry into the A5 Dual Carriageway scheme will open next Tuesday 18th February at the Strule Arts Centre. The Planning Appeals Commission, which has been appointed by the Department of Infrastructure to conduct the inquiry, announced the details for the hearing and a published its timetable for Stage 1 of the inquiry on the 20th of January.
Stage 1 will consider the environmental effects of the road scheme and will take the form of a round table discussion led by the Commissioner. Points tabled for discussion include nature conservation, air quality, noise and vibration, cultural heritage, landscape and visual effects and effects on all travellers. The programme includes only those objections where the objector has opted to participate in the inquiry. The majority of objections are being considered by means of written submissions.
It is proposed that the A5 Western Transport Corridor (A5WTC) will provide 85 kilometres of dual carriageway from just outside Derry to the border at Aughnacloy and it is anticipated that it will improve links between Derry, Strabane, Newtownstewart, Omagh, Ballygawley and Aughnacloy. The objectives of the scheme include: to improve road safety; to improve the road network in the west and North/South Links; to reduce journey travel times; and, to develop the final proposals in light of safety, economic, environmental, integration and accessibility considerations.
For much of its length it will run along the western side of the existing A5 road, making a wide berth of Omagh around the south western side of the town, before continuing south east into the countryside and terminating just south of Aughnacloy.
The scheme had been the subject of a successful legal challenge some years ago, the official response to which was to complete the works in line with the judgement. There then followed a series of reports and consultations in response to the requirements of the Habitats Directive and a Public Inquiry in 2016.
Following a decision to proceed with the scheme, the Department for Infrastructure was met with a further legal challenge made by the Alternative A5 Alliance at the end of 2017. In the intervening period there has been further reports and public consultation. The Department received over 260 responses to the consultation carried out on additional environmental information and Reports of Information to Inform an Appropriate Assessment in 2019. Having considered the content of those 260 representations, the Department concluded that a further public inquiry would be required.
The inquiry scheduled for next week is anticipated to last for four days. According to the Commission Stage 2 will take place between 11th and 13th March 2020 and a separate programme will be produced for Stage 2, where matters of principle, such as the need for the scheme and alternatives, will be considered.
