Forgotten community of A5 landowners suffering financial uncertainty – Buchanan

A “forgotten community” of landowners who live along the planned A5 road upgrade are living in fear amid financial uncertainty, the Stormont Assembly has heard.

A scheme to turn the road into a dual carriageway was first approved by the Stormont Executive in 2007.

But campaigners for the project have cited safety concerns with 57 deaths on the A5, which links Londonderry with Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone, since 2006.

However the upgrade has been held up by legal challenges as well as uncertainty over funding.

The Executive gave the green light for the project last October, and preparation work is under way.

However a judicial review challenge was launched in November and remains ongoing.

DUP MLA Thomas Buchanan brought the issue to the Assembly on Tuesday evening.

He started by saying he wanted to take a moment to remember all those who have died on the A5 and acknowledge the pain and suffering of their loved ones.

He also said there is a “forgotten community and a voice which is not being listened to or taken with any seriousness”.

“That is the voice of the agricultural community, farming businesses who stand to lose large swathes of land to make way for the proposed new A5 dual carriageway,” he told MLAs.

“We have a community suffering from mental torture, from anxiety, families which have been driven to the very edge of despair, and indeed a life has been lost as a result of the uncertainty of what the future holds for them and their business with the huge loss of land.”

Mr Buchanan contended that some of these farm businesses “now stand to be unprofitable” with some “being forced to abandon farming altogether”.

“Six months have now passed since this community had their land vested, and yet they still have no indication how much they are going to receive for their land, or when that money will be forthcoming for them,” he said.

“Yet they’ve been driven off their land, they’ve had it fenced off and cannot include it in their single farm payment claim.

“We have a community that really is under siege and under duress… and this community is a community that needs help and support from this House.”

Responding, Stormont Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins insisted that no A5 landowner will be worse off.

She said the A5 “has been talked about for far too long”.

“Too many people have lost their lives, too many families have been devastated and too many lives have been forever changed by serious injury,” she said.

“I want to reiterate in the strongest possible terms my commitment to the delivery of this long-awaited project.”

Addressing the concerns raised, Ms Kimmins said she “fully understands the impact that losing land has on all landowners affected by vesting”.

“I want to reassure everyone that I am fully committed to ensuring that they are treated fairly, they are treated equally and with respect in mitigating this loss,” she said.

“On scheme completion no affected landowner should be any worse off than they were before construction commenced with all impacts mitigated and compensated for, so I would encourage all landowners through their agents to engage with my officials and those of Land and Property Services (LPS) and initiate dialogue on determining and paying for loss of land.”

Ms Kimmins said her department has the budget available to pay claims, but said they cannot do so without meaningful engagement.

“I know that only a small number of claims have been made to date so I would really encourage all those outstanding to get their claims in,” she said.

“In terms of the value of the land, that is through negotiation between LPS and agents, and there is no set price per acre.

“That is set in terms of a number of factors, the topography, the quality of the land etc.

“That engagement is key to ensure that landowners are getting the proper value for their land.”