Mystery surrounds Cemetery's third access road

Mystery surrounds Derry City and Strabane District Council’s proposed third access road at Derry City Cemetery following a statement from Department for Infrastructure it had “not been involved in a Transport Assessment for this development”.

In June, The Derry News reported on what a resident in the area described as “traffic chaos” at the cemetery on Father’s Day (June 16) and during the annual Blessing of the Graves ceremony (June 22).

Council received planning permission for a proposed new access / egress road into the cemetery off the Southway carriageway in April 2013.

It was approved by councillors in April 2021. However no work has commenced on the road to date.

Asked for an update on the status of the proposed new access / egress road, a spokesperson for Council said: “The installation of the proposed new entrance to the City Cemetery of Southway was investigated previously as part of a contract to extend the cemetery.

“However, the proposed entrance works did not go ahead at that time pending a wider review of traffic concerns that had been raised with the Department for Infrastructure - Roads.”

The Council statement appears to be at odds with the reply this newspaper received from the Department for Infrastructure regarding a request for an update on whether or not a full traffic impact assessment of the roads in and around the proposed new entrance had been completed.

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A Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said: “It is the developer’s responsibility to assess the transport impact of their proposals on the public road network.

“The Department has not been involved in a Transport Assessment for this development.”

The Department also advised that Derry City and Strabane District Council would be able to provide the results of any Transport Assessment it had carried out, as well as advising on the construction of the access.

When asked about these matters, Council referred The Derry News back to the original planning application (A/2011/0122/F), which does not appear to contain the “a wider review of traffic concerns”.