A5 campaigners protest as legal challenge begins

Several hundred people have taken part in a rally in support of the A5 road scheme.

The group, which included the relatives of people killed in crashes on the road, gathered at the High Court in Belfast where an appeal against the development began on Tuesday.

The 58-mile (94km) £1.2bn project was given the green light by then Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd in October 2024.

The following month a group of residents and landowners began judicial review proceedings against the dual carriageway.

More than 50 people have died on the A5 since 2006 and campaigners have demanded improvements be carried out.

The scheme was first announced back in 2007, but has been beset by a number of delays.

Martina Glenn was among those taking part in the rally.

"I am here for my son, Simon Glenn, who was killed on 2 April 2011," she said.

"I am here for him and to support the rest of the people who have lost someone on that road.

"I was coming up on the bus this morning and my stomach was like a washing machine."

She said she hoped the "new road would happen in her lifetime".

A barrister representing the Alternative A5 Alliance group - an umbrella body of landowners, farmers and supporters - told the court on Tuesday that "nothing I say should be taken as an attack on the families".

"We are all truly sorry for their loss," he said.

Marc Willers KC said the aim was "to challenge the minister's decision to go ahead with the scheme" and to challenge whether that decision "stands up to scrutiny".

The court heard approving plans for the upgrade allegedly breaches a legislative goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The group claimed it was "irrational" to give go-ahead for the first phase of the scheme due to the potential adverse impact on climate change targets.

Alternative A5 Alliance successfully challenged earlier decisions to approve the project in 2013 and in 2018.

Fresh judicial review proceedings have been brought against the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) by nine individuals on behalf of the alliance.

On Tuesday, the court heard that a Planning Appeals Commission inquiry recommended halting the A5 upgrade unless the DfI was satisfied it would not undermine the Northern Ireland Climate Change Act, which commits the region to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The alliance argued no reasonable authority could have concluded there was enough information to show these targets would be met if the scheme was approved.

"It is a legal imperative, unless (DfI) can demonstrate with such precision that it will not prevent or prejudice those statutory targets being met," Mr Willers added.

The act's net-zero objectives are mandatory, he insisted.

Further grounds for challenge allege a breach of planning regulations, a breach of habitats regulations by failing to take an appropriately precautionary approach to the impact on the Tully Bog conservation area, a failure to further consult the public and a breach of the group's human rights.

Speaking outside court, a solicitor for the group, Ciaran O'Hare, said: "My clients respectfully submit that it would be much more pragmatic, less controversial and ecologically-sound to upgrade the existing A5 road.

"Northern Ireland is already one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world… To literally bulldoze nature and permanently scar the land would be unethical and a cause for great regret."

The A5 is a vital artery of the Northern Ireland road network. More than 58 miles (94km) long, it has more than 200 side roads connecting to it.

The road is single carriageway for most of its length, with overtaking lanes in some sections.

It links Londonerry with Aughnacloy in County Tyrone and passes through towns like Sion Mills, Omagh and Strabane.

It is the main north-south route in the west of Northern Ireland, providing a link between County Donegal and Dublin, via the N2 in County Monaghan.

The road has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s, with the exception of some town bypasses, but there has been a huge rise in the number of cars, lorries and agricultural vehicles using it since it was first built.

Official statistics show there has been about a 10% increase in traffic on the road in the last 10 years alone. An increase of about 30% is forecast over the next 25 years.