EXTRA
March 2014
5
‘We need action to fix our coastal roads’ THE 8-ft wide hole in Ballyhalbert’s coast road may now be repaired, but Stormont must take swift action to invest in the area’s roads before someone is seriously injured. That’s the emphatic assessment of the situation by residents and the Ballyhalbert Community Association following a prolonged period of tidal suges and heavy rain which have left the coastal village beleaguered. The section of road collapsed during the recent storms, sparking concerns that motorists, who use what is Ballyhalbert’s main arterial route, could have unwittingly driven into the hole. It is also understood that around four or five buses carrying schoolchildren travel on that stretch of road every week day. The Chronicle was on hand to witness repairs to the section on the road the next day, with one householder - who lives directly across from the fissure - Leslie Robinson, praising the quick response from the Roads Service. “It was around teatime, just after
high tide. The stress along the sea wall, and the tide, just pulled at it and it collapsed,” he recalled. “They (the Roads Service) poured concrete into the hole and got it fixed pretty quickly.” But Mr Robinson stressed that the other sections of the road had been neglected for years which also need the authorities’ attention. “The wall at the Gospel Hall collapsed in the car park, and there’s flooding at high tide,” he revealed. It is a view shared by members of the Ballyhalbert Community Association. Chairman Jim Palmer who told the paper that road users
narrowly missed disaster last week. “We were very lucky there were no injuries,” he said. “There has to be investment in the roads. The problem’s a whole lot bigger than that hole. “Councillors and MLAs need to look into this and see where we can get funding, perhaps from Europe.” Group secretary, Nigel Edmunds said that the authorities had embarked on underpinning sections of the road on four separate occasions in the last six weeks. “We also need rock armour in places where it’s required. We need an investment package which is going to tackle issues like
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coastal defences, along with coastal erosion.” A DRD spokesperson told the Chronicle that works were now underway torepair damage caused by the recent weather. “In response to damage caused by the recent tidal surges the department is in the process of carrying out remedial works, some of which involves rock armouring, at a number of locations on the coastal routes around the Ards Peninsula,” they explained. In addressing concerns relating to installing new coastal erosion prevention measures and defences, they continued; “There is no single authority in Northern Ireland with responsibility for coastal protection. DRD carries out responsive remedial action when the integrity of a public road is threatened due to erosion of the adjacent coastline. In some specific locations, such as at Harbour Road, Ballyhalbert, the beach/coastline falls under the ownership of the lands on the inward side of the road hence it would be that landowner who is responsible for maintaining the coastline.”
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