AQW 17640/17-22

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 20/04/2021
Answered On Date: 28/04/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether she will recommend a review of the entirety of the A24 from Newtownbreda to Carryduff, taking account of the significant projected growth in population along the route.

Answer:

My Department is currently bringing forward a suite of new Transport Plans, including the new Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan (BMTP), which will take account of the growth ambitions of the local Councils within the Belfast Metropolitan Area’s catchment (BMA).

The BMTP will consider a range of future options to meet local and regional objectives. These will include improved active travel and public transport provision, and improvements to local roads. Amongst other measures, this will consider the need for improvements to key routes such as the A24, which is a significant commuter route for residents of County Down to access Belfast, and which will be assessed along that section of its route within the BMA.

The BMTP will be integrated with the formal Local Development Plan processes, and as such the timescales for the completion of the Draft Plan and its release for public consultation are still under review.

I am determined to use these Transport Plans to better connect our population and businesses in a sustainable way, and help power our Green Recovery.

As a statutory consultee to the planning authorities, my Department is consulted on all planning applications along the A24. For larger developments, applicants submit a Transport Assessment which considers the transport impact of their development and the proposed mitigation measures. I understand that the proposed residential development on the Mealough Road requires developer led improvement works to be carried out at the Saintfield Road / Mealough Road / Manse Road and Saintfield Road / Knockbracken Road junctions and am advised that the detailed design for the former junction scheme is nearing completion and this will allow improvement works to commence at this junction in the near future.

I can also confirm that there have been a number of additional measures introduced by my Department on the A24 in recent years. These include carriageway widening at Myrtledene Road and Glenhugh Park to provide right turn lanes and a puffin crossing; resurfacing between Manse Road and Brackenvale and the provision of a (SPECS) speed camera system by the NI Road Safety Partnership.