DRD called to review footpath policy

Speaking after the DUP office in Banbridge had been approached by three different constituents who had fallen in the town centre within the space of a week Stephen Moutray said,

“The DUP office in Banbridge has been contacted by three different constituents who have fallen as a result of broken or loose paving stones in three different parts of Banbridge town centre within the space of a single week.

“The current policy on the part of DRD Roads Service is that any dislodged or uneven paving has to be a minimum of 20 millimeters before it can be fixed. While that may be reasonable on most occasions, I think many people would agree with me that where there are several broken loose or uneven paving stones as is the case for example with Newry Street in Banbridge, the policy should be flexible enough to address that. This ought especially to be so whenever someone has actually fallen and suffered injury as a result of this.

“Even while I was getting the photograph taken in Newry Street Cllr McCrum and I were approached by several local residents complaining about the current state of the footpath – some of whom had themselves tripped on these loose paving stones.

“I would call upon the DRD Minister to re-examine the current policy with a view to allowing greater flexibility to tackle this kind of town centre problem when it arises.”