Inspector's Report
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Inspectors’ Report Public Inquiry York Street Interchange Spires Conference and Exhibition Centre Belfast 10th to 12th November to 2015 Lead Inspector: J A Robb Assistant Inspector: J A Cargo Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Background to the Inquiry and Description of the Site 2 3. The Department’s Case: 3.1 Background to the Scheme and Statutory Procedures 4 3.2 Scheme Development up to the Publication of Draft Orders 11 3.3 Traffic and Economic Assessment 20 3.4 Environmental Statement 26 3.5 Questions, Comments and Responses 34 4. Contributors to the Inquiry Process: 4.1 Supporters: 4.1.1 SU01 Norma Ingram 38 4.1.2 SU02 Ian James Parsley, Ultonia Communications 39 4.1.3 SU03 William Mateer 40 4.1.4 SU04 Conor Mulligan, Lagan Homes Ltd. 41 4.1.5 SU05 Andrew McKeever 42 4.1.6 SU06 Andrew Crothers 42 4.1.7 SU07 Seamus Leheny, Freight Transport Association 43 4.1.8 SU08 Arthur Murphy, P&O Ferries 49 4.1.9 SU09 Bernard Clarke, Translink 50 4.2 Objectors: 4.2.1 OBJ01 Cormac Duffy 53 4.2.2 OBJ02 Conor Duffy 55 4.2.3 OBJ03 Fergal Barr 57 4.2.4 OBJ04 Matt Concannon 59 4.2.5 OBJ05 Atkins Global (On behalf of Vodafone) 61 4.2.6 OBJ06 Paul O’Neill (Ashton Community Trust) 61 4.2.7 OBJ07 Paschal Lynch 75 4.2.8 OBJ08 Borghert Borghmans 90 4.2.9 OBJ09 Stephen O’Kane 99 4.2 10 OBJ10 Kimberley Reynolds 104 4.2.11 OBJ11 David McKeever 105 4.2.12 OBJ12 Emer Bussman 106 4.2.13 OBJ13 David Hembrow 107 4.2.14 OBJ14 Greg Keeffe 108 4.2.15 OBJ15 Niamh Collins 109 4.2.16 OBJ16 Chris Murphy 110 4.2.17 OBJ17 Colin McDowell (On behalf of Jack Kirk Garage) 111 i 4.2.18 OBJ18 Colette McKernan/Brendan McKernan, Focus Security Solutions 114 4.2.19 OBJ19 Michael Greene 117 4.2.20 OBJ20 Mick Carragher 117 4.2.21 OBJ21 Andrew Flemming 121 4.2.22 OBJ22 Paul Easton 121 4.2.23 OBJ23 Mark Hackett 123 4.2.24 OBJ24 Garth Boyd/Karen Smith, Trouw Nutrition 145 4.2.25 OBJ25 Residents of Little George’s Street & Molyneaux Street 150 4.2.26 OBJ26 Roy White 156 4.2.27 OBJ27 Andrew Thompson 157 4.2.28 OBJ28 Oonagh McSorley 159 4.2.29 OBJ29 John Murphy 160 4.2.30 OBJ30 John Ferguson 161 4.2.31 OBJ31 Arthur Acheson 163 4.2.32 OBJ32 Gordon Clarke, Sustrans 175 4.2.33. OBJ33 Jonathan Hobbs, NI Greenways 190 4.3 Comments: 4.3.1 COM01 Wesley Johnston 197 4.3.2 COM02 Denis McConnell 198 4.3.3 COM03 Mr Richard Agus, Director, MRA Partnership 198 4.3.4 COM04 Andrew Grieve, DRD Cycling Unit 206 4.3.5 COM05 Grace McLoughlin (John Thompson & Sons Ltd) 206 4.3.6 COM06 Dr Kirstin Lemon, GSNI 207 4.3.7 COM07 John Ford, NIEA - Natural Environment Division 208 4.3.8 COM08 Damian Campbell, DOE - Marine Division 211 4.3.9 COM09 Dr Barry McAuley, DOE - Air and Environmental Quality Unit 211 4.3.10 COM10 Bruce Harper 213 4.3.11 COM11 John McCorry, North Belfast Partnership 215 4.3.12 COM12 Lucy Davison, Belfast City Council 224 4.3.13 COM13 Gary Benson 248 4.3.14 COM14 Geraldine Duggan, Belfast City Centre Management Company 249 4.3.15 COM15 Brian Mullan, Antrim Road Regeneration Committee 252 4.3.16 COM16 NIEA - Historic Monuments Unit 256 4.3.17 COM17 Denise Mackle, DARD - Countryside Management Development Branch 257 ii 4.4 Interested Parties: 4.4.1 IP60 Michael Little 259 4.4.2 IP61 Helm Housing 259 4.4.3 IP62 Brendan Callan 260 4.4.4 IP63 Quintin Oliver 264 4.4.5 IP64 John Wright (Green Action) 265 4.4.6 IP65 Jeff Rutherford 265 4.4.7 IP66 Brenda Murphy 266 4.4.8 IP67 Nigel Smyth (CBI Northern Ireland) 275 4.4.9 IP68 Kevin McShane (Belfast Harbour Commissioners) 279 5. Correspondence from those unable to attend the Inquiry 285 6. Final Contributions at the Inquiry: 6.1 Ms Milena Komarova 286 6.2 TransportNI 286 6.3 The Inspector 287 7. Inspectors’ Considerations: 7.1 Legislative Requirements 288 7.2 The Need for the Proposed York Street Interchange 288 7.3 Scheme Specific Objectives 289 7.4 Junction Improvement Options Considered by the Department 289 7.5 Impact of the Proposed Scheme on Adjacent Residential Areas 290 7.6 Provision for Cyclists 293 8. Inspectors’ Recommendations: 8.1 General 295 8.2 Adjacent Residential Areas 295 8.3 Community Liaison 296 8.4 Provision for Cyclists 296 8.5 Summary of Recommendations Relating to Individuals and Organisations 298 9. Acknowledgements 300 Annexes: A - Departmental Team, Consultants and Advisors who attended the Inquiry 301 B - Objectors, Agents and Others who attended the Inquiry 302 iii 1. INTRODUCTION Following our appointment as Lead Inspector and Assistant Inspector respectively, we conducted an Inquiry at the Spires Conference and Exhibition Centre, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast BT1 6DW, in November 2015, in connection with the proposed York Street Interchange Scheme. The purpose of this Inquiry was to examine, together with the opinions expressed in relation to this project :- The Environmental Statement. The Notice of Intention to Make a Direction Order. The Notice of Intention to Make Vesting Order. This documentation had been prepared by the Department for Regional Development, TransportNI (TNI) and their specialist Consultants. We were also given the responsibility of creating a written Report following the conclusion of the Inquiry containing our considerations and recommendations and to submit this to TNI. We noted that URS, the Consultants appointed to develop this Scheme, were acquired by AECOM in October 2014. Since the Environmental Statement (ES) and supporting documentation was researched and developed over a number of years, the name URS appears throughout the TNI written evidence. In order to maintain consistency the Consultants have been referred to as URS throughout this Report. A Pre-Inquiry meeting took place on Monday 5th November in the Spires Centre, at which a number of administrative matters and other procedural issues were discussed. The main Inquiry opened on Tuesday 10th November and ended in the late afternoon of Thursday 12th November, lasting a total of just under three full days. Subsequently, site visits took place with a number of the residents of the Little George’s Street on the morning of Monday 16th November. Copies of the Environmental Statement were made available for public inspection by TNI between 9th February and 10th March and comments on the proposed Scheme were invited by 10th March. 33 letters and e-mails objecting to aspects of the Scheme were received by the end of the consultation period, together with 9 others expressing support. A further 17 submissions contained comments and observations and in addition, 8 people and organisations made contact with TNI following the end of the consultation period. Two alternative proposals were submitted for consideration at the Inquiry. We believe that all those who wished to do so were provided with ample opportunity to express their opinions about the proposed Scheme at the Inquiry and to be made aware of the views of all the other interested organisations, groups, and individuals. A Public Inquiry Report is not intended to be a verbatim record of the proceedings. We have included a brief description of the proposal, a resume of the submissions which were made, together with other written objections and representations. It should be noted that when assembling this report we have not necessarily followed the order in which the evidence was submitted at the Inquiry. J A Robb J A Cargo 7th January 2016. - 1 - 2. BACKGROUND TO THE INQUIRY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE 2.1 Background to the Inquiry The trans-European transport network is formed, in part, by the North-Sea Mediterranean Corridor which includes road links between Belfast, Dublin and Cork. The development of the proposed Scheme has been co-financed by the European Union as a priority project on this Corridor to upgrade and improve connections from Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe,. The City of Belfast is Northern Ireland's major transport hub and the main transport gateway to the rest of the United Kingdom and Europe. It is the focal point for a number of the Key Transport Corridors that collectively form part of the strategic road network managed by Transport Nl. The strategic road network, along with the rail network, forms Northern Ireland's overall Regional Strategic Transport Network. The Key Transport Corridors within Northern Ireland provide connection to other major European cities through the region's gateways. These gateways include Northern Ireland's airports and sea ports. The Eastern Seaboard Key Transport Corridor runs through Belfast and provides connections to the regional gateways of the Port of Belfast and George Best Belfast City Airport. Within the Belfast Metropolitan Area, the corridor comprises the M1, Westlink and M2. The existing York Street junction is a node on the Eastern Seaboard Key Transport Corridor, located to the north of Belfast City Centre. At this node, strategic traffic movements interact with strategic traffic movements to and from the M3 and local traffic movements into and out of Belfast City Centre. The capacity of the existing York Street junction is limited by both the magnitude of competing traffic flows and the various physical constraints at the location. These physical constraints include adjacent residential housing, commercial, retail and industrial properties, elevated rail infrastructure carried on the Dargan Bridge and the capacity of the existing roads.