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A CHALLENGE at the High Court from objectors to the £1.2 billion upgrade to the notorious A5 road will now be heard on Tuesday, March 18 – a fortnight behind its original schedule.
Last October, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd revealed that work would commence in the early part of 2025 on the first stretch of the new A5 road, with the end goal a 58-mile dual carriageway from Derry to Aughnacloy.
The long-awaited upgrade was hit by its latest setback, however, when it emerged before Christmas that a group of objectors were set on lodging an appeal.
They claim the scheme breaches legislative goals for cutting regional greenhouse gas emissions.
The court challenge was pencilled in for early March, but Department for Infrastructure officials failed to submit affidavit evidence by the deadline of January 17, meaning that a delay to court proceedings was likely.
Now, it has been confirmed that the hearing will take place on the new date of Tuesday, March 18 at the High Court in Belfast.