Press release

Defence of road scheme was a waste of taxpayers' money

8 April 2013

Friends of the Earth today (Monday 8 April 2013) condemned the Department of Regional Development for its costly defence in the High Court of a road scheme, even though it knew it had breached EU law.

They were speaking after the Department's decision to build two stretches of the A5 Western Transport Corridor was quashed by Justice Stevens, on the grounds that it had failed to comply with the Habitats Directive when considering how the road would affect the River Foyle and River Finn Special Areas of Conservation.

James Orr, Friends of the Earth's Northern Ireland Director said:

"The law should be seen as a road map, not an obstacle course.  We commend the brave citizens who took this court case at great financial risk.  They have defended the rule of law against an Executive department that showed total contempt for due process.

"The Department were told during the public inquiry that they were breaching the Habitats Directive, but carried on with this scheme regardless. 

"They proceeded to waste millions of pound of taxpayers' money on preparatory work, and tens of thousands more defending the judicial review taken by the farmers, business owners and private citizens who were facing the destruction of their livelihoods and homes.

"This was a shocking waste of public funds that could have resulted in serious damage to two of the last great salmon spawning rivers in Europe. 

"The Department chose to defend the indefensible, and we will all foot the bill."

Mr Orr continued:

"We are relieved that hundreds of families and businesses will now be spared the trauma of this unnecessary road scheme, but saddened that they had to go through the heartache and expense of a court hearing in order to defend their property and income.

"Citizens should not have to take Executive departments to court in order to force them to obey the law. 

"Stormont's policy of automatically defending judicial reviews must end."

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Published by Friends of the Earth Limited