Causeway Coast and Glens Council to broker meeting to tackle Coleraine 'festering sore' road repairs

At May’s Corporate Policy and Resources Committee meeting, UUP Councillor John Wisener proposed that council convene a meeting with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), businesses, and other interested parties to create a repair plan for Coleraine’s Somerset Road South.

He noted that the road was a material route into Riverside Retail Park and the Jet Centre, which are “the largest retail park and the largest entertainment complex in the borough”, respectively.

“If one comes from the west, a satnav will direct you onto this road,” he added. “It has been in terrible condition for years, and it’s very frustrating to the people of Coleraine and to the people who live in the Somerset area, [so] my proposal is to develop a strategy to get the road repaired.”

UUP Councillor Richard Holmes seconded the motion and said the road has been a “festering sore for the last decade”.

“It has been talked about in council many, many times and it’s not our responsibility,” Cllr Holmes added, “but somebody needs to take the lead and try and bring various parties together, between businesses, DfI and council, to try and get a solution that’s workable.

“It’s a disgrace that it has been left this long, but somebody’s going to have to show some leadership here and it’s going to have to be us.”

Alliance Alderman Yvonne Boyle commended councillors Wisener and Holmes for “thinking outside the box” by bringing in the motion forward, while DUP Councillor Mervyn Storey cautioned that the motion could lead to council assuming blame for the road.

He said: “While I support the motion, we just need to be careful that council doesn’t become the fall guy or whoever the responsibility lies with.”