Ballynahinch bypass appeal for start date

27 November 2024

A FORMER councillor has this week urged a leading government department to provide a definitive start date for the eagerly-awaited Ballynahinch bypass.

Robert Burgess — who represented the Rowallane area — said the near two mile shovel ready scheme must be given the green light by the Department for Infrastructure for work to start.

While roads officials are keen to deliver the scheme they have warned the money simply isn’t there to do it.

The Department for Infrastructure is currently reviewing its transport policies given its challenging budgetary position and commitments under new climate change legislation, with fears the bypass could face a signifcant delay.

Local politicians were told recently by the district’s most senior roads official that development work on the bypass is substantially concluded and the scheme’s draft business case has been prepared.

But Mr Mark McPeake said a decision to proceed to the procurement stage depends upon the government department’s immediate project priorities which will be formulated on completion of its transportation plans.

The DfI hopes to publish a transport strategy later this year and it will set out a timetable for planning and delivery of transport infrastructure across Northern Ireland up to 2035. The document aims to align transport infrastructure with the requirements of climate change to achieve net zero by 2050.

The Department says the decarbonisation of transport is likely to be the single largest strategic driver of its work over the next decade, with the Ballynahinch bypass one of the schemes that has

been developed to take through to the direction order stage and is fighting for funding alongside many other road schemes.

Its new transport strategy will form its decision making process over the next 10 years, with what schemes that will be prioritised going out to consultation early next year with DfI Minister John O’Dowd deciding what the priorities are and where the money comes from.

Mr Burgess said the Ballynahinch bypass must be on the list.

Mr Burgess said the scheme had been dogged by a succession of delays over many decades which has resulted in the cost edging closer towards £60m and that it “must not miss out”.

He has called for renewed enthusiasm and impetus at departmental level to deliver the much-needed scheme which, he believes, can help unlock the market town’s economic potential and boost the wider South Down tourism economy, given Ballynahinch is widely regarded as the gateway to the Mournes.

“This is a recognised flagship road project and the handbrake needs to be taken off to allow it to progress. The scheme has been on the long finger for too long,” he said.

Mr Burgess said the campaign for a new by-pass was now in its fifth decade and it needs to be delivered.

“A start date must now be given for the scheme and capital funding identified to allow construction work to start. There must be no further delay,” he declared.

“The new road will not just tackle the congestion problem, but revitalise the town and help create new investment opportunities in its commercial heart and draw in shoppers.”

The bypass is the single biggest road scheme ever proposed for the district, with suggestions that it could take at least 18 months to construct.

Mr Burgess said reducing tailbacks will help the environment and deter drivers from using a number of heavily populated housing areas as unofficial bypasses, including the Loughside, Carlisle Park and Langley Road areas.

“Ballynahinch residents and the town’s business community deserve this scheme. It is long overdue,” he said. “There is overwhelming support for this scheme.”

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