No response on rural roads complaints

Mid Ulster District Council is yet to receive a response to meet the Infrastructure Minister to discuss the state of the district’s rural roads, members have been told.
Councillor Frances Burton.Councillor Frances Burton.
Councillor Frances Burton.

At February’s monthly council meeting, the Chair, Councillor Cathal Mallaghan proposed that he would write to the Minister for the Department for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon asking for a meeting to discuss the state of the district’s roads.

The letter also set out Council’s belief that the inspection of the road network must return to a monthly schedule for A class roads, every three months for B class and every six months for minor roads.

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Currently, the road network is inspected every two months for A class roads, four months for B class roads and nine months for minor roads, according to Cllr Mallaghan.

At March’s monthly meeting Councillor Frances Burton raised the issue and asked the Chair if he was aware of any response to the request for a meeting.

“With regards to the state of rural roads we discussed the inspection policy and called for it to revert back to an inspection every one, three and six months depending on the type of road,” said Cllr Burton.

“I also thought we were seeking a meeting with the Infrastructure Minister about this issue. Have we any update on that and are we going back to the previous model?

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“Honest to goodness every time you look at the paper at the minute there are complaints about potholes. I know some work has been done but there is still a lot to get through.”

In response to this query, Council’s Chair, Councillor Cathal Mallaghan said that as of March 25, no response had been received.

“I can confirm our letter to the Minister has been sent but up until now there has been no response,” he said.

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