A teenage member of the group opposing the new A5 road development who is one year older than the plans themselves has said its legal challenge is “not about the money” and accused the Department for Infrastructure of “trespassing” on his land.
Plans for the upgrade of the A5 road, the main arterial route between Derry and Dublin, were first proposed by Stormont in 2007 and have been hit by a series of delays and legal challenges.
The latest legal challenge is a judicial review being brought by the Alternative A5 Alliance, a group of farmers, landowners and environmentalists who have claimed the Stormont department has broken its own climate change legislation with the plans.
Fifty-six people have lost their lives on the existing A5 road since the upgrade was first proposed 18 years ago, with campaigners branding it the most dangerous road in Ireland.
Despite the latest legal challenge, which is due to be heard at the High Court at a three-day hearing from March 18, vesting orders came into place last October which saw the transfer of land needed for the project to DfI.
AA5A member Simon Wilson (19) says a quarter of his 80 acres of farmland in Tattyreagh, just outside Omagh, has been taken from him and accused DfI of “trespassing” the land.
“All we ever hear is about how heartless and greedy farmers are,” Mr Wilson told the Irish News.
“I don’t care about money, I don’t want the money. You can’t farm without land, it’s got nothing to do with money. Yes we want paid fairly but we just want to stop it.
“They are out doing their works, hedges and fences being put up and no mention of money or how much they are giving you.
“There’s been no money has passed hands yet, it’s trespassing really. We have had no official communication about how much we are getting, just rumours.”
It’s understood landowners are expected to be offered between £15,000 and £16,000 per acre for the land vested as part of the road upgrade, with the total cost of the new dual carriageway expected to top £2 billion.
A recent survey by the Irish Farmers Journal put the average cost of agricultural land in Co Tyrone, where the majority of the new road would be situated, at £14,142 per acre.
Read more: Farmers and landowners along the A5 now ‘fully supportive’ of new route
The teenager runs his beef and sheep farm alongside his brother, and the pair are the fourth generation of his family to farm the land.
“Any landowner will understand the heritage of the thing and they don’t like to see it gone.
“My great grandfather was definitely a big objector of it. To see what you have bought and built up over the years just be taken away and there’s nothing you can do about it.
“I’m not shying away from the fact that it’s tragic lives are being lost.
“If they had got on with an upgrade of the existing road when they should have done, I don’t think them lives would have been lost.
“A widening of the existing road would have been the way to go and it would have been done in half the time.”
£110 million has already been spent by DfI ahead of construction work starting on the new road, and the young farmer says money would be better spent on the health service.
“Widening the road, adding slip road turnoffs to make getting on to the road easier, more speed cameras on the road.
“Them things could have been done twenty years ago with the money that they have spent on consultants and consultations for the new road.
“That’s just keeping those consultants in jobs, I think.
“People are sitting on NHS waiting lists, people are waiting days in A&E and thousands of people are dying on waiting lists.
“£2 billion would be a lot better spent on that than some vanity project.”
Former DfI minister John O’Dowd vowed to robustly challenge the judicial review proceedings brought by nine members of the AA5A, with new minister Liz Kimmins also reaffirming her support for the road project.
A spokesperson for DfI said landowners affected by the vesting process will have received communication setting out the process and have been offered a one-to-one meeting with departmental officials.
“The A5 is a critical infrastructure project which will save lives, increase overtaking opportunities and improve journey times for the thousands of daily users of this route,” a spokesperson said.
“When the land was vested into the ownership of the Department in November of last year, all landowners affected will have received a vesting package setting out the vesting and compensation process in detail, including an offer for a one-to-one meeting with officials to discuss any concerns and queries they have.
“All landowners were also encouraged to acquire the services of a land agent who will have expert knowledge in this area of work, with the Department covering all reasonable expenses. We continue to endeavour to deal with all landowners fairly and transparently.”
