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THE High Court hearing on the long-delayed £1.7bn A5 dual-carriageway project is set to resume this afternoon (Thursday) after being adjourned to allow legal representatives for the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to meet Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins.
The pause came during the latest stage yesterday of the long-running legal battle over plans to build the 58-mile route from Ballygawley to Newbuildings, a project repeatedly stalled by challenges centred on environmental and climate-related concerns.
Mr Justice McAlinden agreed to the adjournment yesterday after new evidence was submitted by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), which has been granted permission to intervene in support of the scheme.
He confirmed he had reviewed the fresh documentation.
The case returned to the High Court after the Court of Appeal last year directed that elements of the challenge relating to the Climate Change Act should be reconsidered.
The DfI is appealing Mr Justice McAlinden’s earlier decision to quash planning approval for the A5 on climate grounds, with the Lady Chief Justice currently considering that appeal.
Addressing the court, Mr Justice McAlinden urged all parties to work towards a resolution that recognises both the need to reduce emissions and the pressing safety concerns on the existing A5.
“As a society, we need to move forward to ensure that climate targets are met and infrastructure is made safer and ensure that families in Armagh, Donegal and elsewhere do not have to suffer the horror of burying more people who have died on that road,” he said.
Referring to the death of a 36-year-old man on the A5 at its junction with the Garvaghey Bridge Road on Monday night, Mr Justice McAlinden added, “No one is more keenly aware of the dangers of this road and that each death haunts me.”
