Permanent road closure at Hedges?

During a Leisure and Development Committee meeting, members back the call to ‘formally issue a request to Transport NI to initiate extinction of Bregagh Road’. The report highlighted how the Stranocum landmark had become a visitor attraction and that Council had received a number of concerns about degradation of the verges and traffic management. It was revealed that on early examination, officers had noted a number of potential safety related issues with the site and had convened a number of meetings with key stakeholders to discuss the issues and explore management solutions. After the meetings with representatives from Transport NI, Tourism NI, the local Hoteliers, the Hedges Preservation Trust and Mervyn Storey MLA an agreed outline approach had been drafted which included agreeing a proposal with landowners, other statutory stakeholders and Council as well as consulting with the wider community. They also discussed the possible road closure and providing an alternative access via a footpath through a field. Parking capacity, site management and costs involved were also wider strategic issues.