This is the area of the River Foyle not included on the SAC map between Newbuildings in the foreground and Magheramason.
This second photo is of reed beds where nesting swans live along the shoreline of the River Foyle between the two villages. The dual carriageway would come within 20metres of this spot.
Along the embankment of the flood plain where the Glenmornan River and the Burndennet and the Strabane Canal (all of which were excluded from the SAC map) and all of which join the River Foyle within 200metres of each other.
There are several large islands along the River Foyle at this spot - one of them over 3 miles long. The A5WTC would run parallel within 200metres of this beauty spot that is also a major feeding ground for a wide variety of birds all year round.
Resumé of Report by Victor Christie – Conservationist
Environmental Issues against the planning of the Proposed A5 Dual Carriageway
Safety
No tests using anemometer masts were carried out on wind speeds anywhere along the entire length of the proposed route. The embankment on which the motorway would be built through the 8Km long flood plain between Strabane and Bready will be 7 to13metres high. Fierce winds would climb up the western side of the embankment and combine with the force of the wind hitting the vehicles horizontally, blowing them out of their lanes. Scientific evidence shows that if the wind speed is doubled then the force of the wind against the object is tripled. If the wind speed is tripled from 3m/sec to 9m/sec - then the force of the wind is increased 27 times. The high-sided, long embankments will be exposed to the strongest winds in Europe. The higher the road above the surrounding landscape, the stronger the wind speeds. The North West is among the windiest regions in the world. Long sections of this proposed route have very high exposure because there is a clear view towards the South West from the Strabane to Bready region towards the Bluestack Mountains in South West Donegal, - which are 35kms distant. The greater the distance that wind is unobstructed the higher the wind speeds. Wind gusts of over 110km per hour are commonplace in this region during the winter months, together with driving rain, and the susceptibility to dense fog when the weather happens to be calm.
Environment
Area of Special Scientific Interest
There is the issue of the ASSI along a large section of the route. Under European environmental law it is illegal to build a motorway within 2Kms of an ASSI if there is a viable alternative.
Visual Impact Assessment
According to the Planning Service in Omagh, no proper visual impact assessment was carried out prior to the announcement of the preferred route. There was a visual assessment done from a helicopter 100 ft above the proposed route. This was very deceptive, since hardly anyone will be going along this route in a helicopter. A visual assessment should be done at ground level.
Drainage Impact Assessment
There has been no impact assessment of the damage to the flood plain from Strabane to Bready, which regularly suffers from flooding. The embankments for this motorway would exacerbate that problem. Hundreds of acres of good farmland will be left stagnant and useless because of the damage to the flood plain. Therefore 4000 - 5000 acres of good farmland will be destroyed but the only compensation awarded would be for land actually taken by the motorway.
Traffic Impact Assessment
The impact of vehicles arriving more quickly at New Buildings will cause several miles of tailback from the traffic lights at Craigavon Bridge in Londonderry. This will seriously impact on those people who live between New Buildings and the city, such as Stoneypath, Dunhugh Park and Prehen Park. It will also clog all the minor roads into the southeastern part of the city, such as the Woodside, Gortinure, Trench, Church, Curryfree, Tullyally and Rushall roads, as motorists try to escape the long bottle neck leading into the traffic lights at Craigavon Bridge.
This will make it impossible for the emergency services to bring an effective service to those areas mentioned above including New Buildings, Magheramason, Bready, Gobnascale and The Waterside area of the city.
Economics
The amount of earth moving involved beggars belief. The higher the motorway above the surrounding landscape, the higher expenditure.
Roads service has not announced the cost of the proposed link across a new Foyle Bridge at New Buildings, plus a12Km new road to Manor Cunningham in Donegal to the West, plus the possible 7km link to the A6 in Drumahoe.
The possible connections at New Buildings have been estimated to cost a further £400million which, when added to the estimated £850m costing of the motorway gives a grand total of at least £1250million. According to the Roads Service, there are no plans or funding set aside to carry out this additional work within the next 20 years.
This total does not include the £200million cost of providing windbreak screens for many kilometres along both sides of the embankments to stop vehicles from crashing over the embankments into fields or houses below. These screens are in evidence between Monaghan and Carrickmacross on the N2 to Dublin.
From DaSTS for Eastern England
6.4 Ecological Footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a means of comparing consumption and lifestyles, and checking this against nature's ability to provide for this consumption. The ecological footprint for the East of England is 5.64 global hectares per capita (gha/cap) compared with an average in the UK of 5.36 gha/cap. It is the third highest rate of the British regions, with only Northern Ireland and South-East England having higher rates. If everybody on the planet had a global hectare equivalent to the average person in the East of England, then we would need three planets to support life on Earth.
What are the Issues / Implications for Transport?
Ecological footprint calculations include a wide range of variables to measure sustainability. Transport is included in ecological footprint analysis through the energy used in the transportation of goods and people and the through the air and noise pollution emitted by transport services.
RIVERS AGENCY PREDICTION FOR FLOOD PLAIN OF RIVER FOYLE
FOLLOWING MAP SHOWS POSITION OF A5WTC IN FLOOD PLAIN
FLOODING ALONG THE FOYLE VALLEY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN HERE IF THIS ROAD WENT AHEAD?
