A decision by Northern Ireland’s Executive to proceed with the upgrade of the A5 road to Derry has been quashed at the High Court in Belfast.
Mr Justice McAlinden told the court that he was aware his ruling would bring “fresh anguish” to the families of those who lost loved ones on the road, but said the proposed scheme breached elements of the Climate Change Act 2022.
The North’s Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins was at the Royal Courts of Justice to hear the ruling on Monday.
The Executive gave the green light for the long-awaited upgrade to the A5 in October.
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However, judicial review proceedings were brought against the Department for Infrastructure by nine applicants, including residents, farmers and landowners opposed to the £1.2 billion (€1.4 billion) scheme.
There have been more than 50 deaths on the A5, one of the North’s main road arteries that links Derry with Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone, since 2006.
The road connects the northwest – Donegal and Derry – to Dublin through regional towns including Strabane and Omagh.
A scheme to turn the road into a dual carriageway was first approved by the Executive in 2007 but it has been held up by legal challenges and uncertainty over funding.
This is the third time in 18 years that approval for the road’s upgrade has been overturned in court.
Many relatives and friends of people killed and injured on the road have long campaigned for a modernised road to improve public safety on the route.
Justice McAlinden acknowledged in his judgment that it was “likely that delays in the progression of this scheme will coincide with the occurrence of further loss of life and serious injury on the existing road”.
But he added that “the decision to proceed with the scheme must be taken in accordance with the law”.
“The principle of the rule of law cannot be subverted, even if the motivation for doing so is to achieve what is deemed to constitute a clear societal benefit.”
– Press Association
