Progress on bypass is halted

Progress on bypass is halted

16 August 2023

THE future of the long-awaited Ballynahinch bypass project has been put in doubt.

The Department for Infrastructure has announced that preliminary work on the multi-million pound scheme has been “paused”.

It is one of a number of road building project across the province to be put on hold by the Department.

A spokesperson for the Department said budget constraints and climate change targets have "changed the landscape considerably" for road improvements.

It’s the latest in a series of delays which have blighted the ambitious project designed to ease traffic congestion in Ballynahinch.

In April 2021 the Department announced that the bypass may be completed by the spring of 2024 at the earliest.

In March last year another delay was announced on the grounds that there was no agreed budget in the absence of the Stormont Executive.

The scheme is expected to cost in the region of £35 million.

This latest delay has been heavily criticised by South Down Sinn Fein MP Chris Hazzard.

“The latest announcement from the Department for Infrastructure, putting the Ballynahinch bypass under threat, is simply not acceptable,” he said.

“Another stark reminder of the impact that cruel Tory cuts that are being facilitated by the continued boycott of the DUP are having on communities here in South Down and beyond. 

“A project sitting shovel ready, that should be a major priority and is long overdue is now being further kicked down the road as a consequence.”

Mr Hazzard added: “We need an Executive up and running immediately with locally elected ministers in place to ensure these strategically important projects are delivered as soon as possible. No more delays.”

Local DUP MLA Harry Harvey said he was “absolutely disgusted” by the announcement.

“Once again, the Ballynahinch bypass has been put well and truly to the bottom of the pile of infrastructure priorities and won’t be progressed at any level moving forward,” he remarked.

“The people of Ballynahinch have been waiting on this key infrastructure project, quite literally, for generations.

“Ballynahinch is in gridlock with traffic, bumper to bumper day in and day out. The long-awaited bypass would prove to be a real lifeline, not only for local people in the area, but also for visitors, increasing accessibility through to the Mournes and beyond, boosting tourism potential and the local economy

“The lack of strategic vision for this project within the Department has been evident for decades and I am so disappointed that following this recent letter, we seem to be as far away from a bypass for Ballynahinch as ever before.

Mr Harvey added: “I have written to the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Infrastructure seeking an urgent meeting with my DUP colleagues and I to discuss this matter.

“Whilst the Department appear to have given up on Ballynahinch I have not. It’s long since time we got on with the job and built the bypass.” 

In a statement on Monday, the Department said a combination of budget constraints and climate change commitments had "changed the landscape considerably”, meaning that "delivery of the major roads programme as previously set out is no longer sustainable nor appropriate".

It said the schemes put on hold and their future in a major works programme will be "informed by the Department's emerging transport plans and any decision by a future infrastructure minister”.