‘Londonderry’ road sign vandalism costs £600

The figure does not take account of the level of vandalism in the Northern Division which includes Londonderry and Limavady.

Road Minister Danny Kennedy outlined the expenditure for the Dungannon, Cookstown, Magherafelt, Strabane, Omagh and Fermanagh areas in response to an Assembly Question.

The Minister explained that Roads Services’s official policy was to use ‘Londonderry’ on its signage.

“My Department’s Roads Service has advised that its uses Ordinance Survey mapping references as a guide to determine the names and spelling of destinations used in the design of direction signage.

“It is Roads Service practice to use the full place name of any destination on a sign and for this reason, ‘Londonderry’ is always used on direction signs for the city.”

He explained that vandalism was a problem although a relatively minor one.

“Roads Service is aware of vandalism on some road signs which feature the name Londonderry and its estimates that this problem occurs 12 times per year, within its Western Division alone,” he stated.

“With regard to the cost of removing graffiti from road signs, I can advise the Member that these costs are low as it is usually combined with other maintenance activities. Roads Service estimates that the cost of repair, in the area covered by its Western Division, is £50 per sign,” he added.

“In relation to the total number and cost of repairing vandalised signs, Roads Service has advised that this information is not recorded separately, as it is normally combined with information on other maintenance activities. However, it has been estimated that within its Western Division, this problem has occurred on 60 occasions in the last five years, at an approximate annual cost of £600,” stated Mr Kennedy.

Asked by UUP MLA Ross Hussey how many instances of graffiti on road signs have been reported in West Tyrone and across Northern Ireland Mr Kennedy replied:

“My Department’s Roads Service does not hold information in the form requested, as all instances of graffiti are categorised and recorded in the same manner and therefore it is not possible to provide of a specific break down of those involving road signs.

“However, local officials estimate that in the West Tyrone area, there is an average of around 1 incident a year.”