Ruling to come on future of A5 road project

The Court of Appeal in Belfast overturns a decision to block work on one of Northern Ireland's largest ever road projects, the A5

The 58-mile (94km) £1.7bn project – which runs from Londonderry to Ballygawley in County Tyrone – has been in the works for 20 years but has been held up by delays and legal challenges

Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan ruled in favour of the Department of Infrastructure, which challenged a ruling last year that stopped work on the project going forward

Describing the legal history of the project as "long and torturous", she ruled on four main grounds including human rights and climate change

Lady Justice Keegan said the ruling that the plans breached human rights should be reversed and also that the plans should proceed despite how it intersects with the Climate Change Act

In 2025, a judge ruled against the project going ahead in its current form, upholding a legal challenge taken by a group of landowners – he said the plans breached climate change targets and criticised "an inadequacy of information"

Niall McKenna, from the Enough is Enough campaign which supports the road going ahead, said it was "not a time a celebration" but said there was "a sense of pride"

More than 50 people have died on the A5 since 2006 and campaigners have long called for the road to be upgraded

While reaction to the Court of Appeal's decision continues to filter in, here's a recap of how the case got there.

The 58-mile stretch of tarmac that traverses the west of Northern Ireland known as the A5, has rarely been out of the headlines in recent years.

The road is the Northern Ireland part of the major arterial route that connects the north-west of the island – Donegal and Londonderry – to Dublin, via towns including Strabane, Omagh and Aughnacloy

More than 50 people have died on the road since 2006.

Campaigners who want a new dual carriageway say the current road is not safe and claim its outdated design increases the risk of driving mistakes and accidents.

But others have raised opposition to the amount of land and farms that will be affected by a new road, as well as environment concerns around the construction of a carriageway.

Last year, a group of residents, landowners and farmers took a legal challenge to stop work on the project.

A judge found the project should not go ahead in its current form, saying the Department for Infrastructure's plans did not comply with climate change targets.

The department then took the case to the Court of Appeal and the ruling went in its favour.

The A5 is mostly single carriageway with few overtaking lanes

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingDavy Wilsonin Ballymagorry, County Tyrone

David Connolly’s home sits right on the A5 on the outskirts of the village of Ballymagorry.

He has been keeping across proceedings in Belfast and says the go-ahead for the road upgrade is “great news”.

"It is a shocking road, way too dangerous and too many lives have been lost on it. The whole thing, the whole upgrade has taken way too long.

“Now I hope this judgment sees work get going on the upgrade as soon as possible.”

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNiamh Mahonat the Court of Appeal

Niall McKenna, from the campaign group Enough is Enough, says they are not celebrating.

"Our campaign was all about saving lives. It was certainly not to win court cases. But at the moment, I do feel a sense of pride."

Speaking outside court, he says: "I feel a sense of pride of our senior counsel, Stephen Toal, whose arguments were so accepted, particularly around the area of human rights."

"But I say it's not a time for celebration, and my most pride is for the people who stand behind me, the families of victims of the A5, almost 60, in the 20 years that this road was supposed to have been delivered, and it's too late for those people.

"Their loved ones are already gone, but they have campaigned tirelessly to make sure that no other families have to suffer the pain that they've went through. Thank you."

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNiall McCrackenat the Court of Appeal

“The A5 Western Transport Corridor is a priority investment for the Northern Ireland Executive and will deliver several benefits including improving road safety and connectivity," says Lady Justice Keegan.

"Road safety is an obvious and pressing issue given the number of deaths that have occurred on this road, particularly of young people”

She says the A5 project was “larger than any road project ever undertaken in Northern Ireland” and “inevitably this issue intersects with the Climate Change Act".

She says the previous trial judge had “failed to factor in that the Department for Infrastructure and the executive were aware of the wider transport sector emission issues”.

She finds his ruling that the decision to proceed with the A5 road project braced the Climate Change Act “cannot stand”.

The A5 is considered one of Northern Ireland's most dangerous roads

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCatherine MorrisonBBC News Northern Ireland reporter

The Court of Appeal says there had been "no suggestion" the underlying legislation (the Climate Change Act) is unworkable by any parties.

They said they were satisfied that legal obligations cannot prevent a new road being built where it has been assessed to be – as far as possible – compliant with the new climate change rules.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCatherine MorrisonBBC News NI

Lady Chief Justice Keegan says the fundamental error the judge made was the failure to consider how the decision fitted within climate targets across Northern Ireland as a whole.

The Court of Appeal says the judge was wrong in his approach and the outcomes he reached in relation to the issues identified earlier, environmental impact assessment, human rights and climate change obligations.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNiall McCrackenat the Court of Appeal

The court has overturned a decision that blocked work commencing on one of Northern Ireland’s largest roads projects.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing While the judgment is being delivered, here's a quick summary of the arguments over the A5 Western Transport Corridor project, to give it its full title.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNiall McCrackenat the Court of Appeal

Lady Justice Keegan says the A5 project was “larger than any road project undertaken in Northern Ireland” and “inevitably this issue intersects with the Climate Change Act".

“While the scheme will increase emissions it is a priority investment and should be proceeded with.”

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNiall McCrackenat the Court of Appeal

Justice Keegan outlines how the trial judge did not find a substantive breach in human rights but more a procedural one.

Justice Keegan says the Court of Appeal found some “deficits” in the reasoning.

“Human rights issues were clearly taken into account in this case," she says.

She added there was “substantial evidence” from the Department for Infrastructure on the issue of the impact that this road would have on landowners and their human rights.

“Overall we find the argument based on human rights to be unconvincing and the judge went too far and made assumptions which he should not have made," she adds.

The Court of Appeal therefore reversed the judge's findings on the human rights issue.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing This map gives a good visual overview of where the A5 is in Northern Ireland, its current route and the proposed new route.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCatherine MorrisonBBC News NI

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan is delivering the judgment.

We aren't sure how long it will take but one of the first things she said was that it was "no overstatement" to say the litigation history of the A5 project was "long and tortuous".

Keegan is working her way through the four main grounds of this challenge.

Dealing with first one – the judge's quashing of the A5 project on grounds of EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) obligations – the Court of Appeal has found the trial judge erred in his analysis of EIA compliance.

The Court of Appeal has found in favour of the appellants, the Department for Infrastructure, on EIA grounds and has reversed the decision of the trial judge on this aspect of the challenge.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing The court's decision on the future of one of Northern Ireland’s largest road projects is due later.

Proposals to build a new dual A5 dual carriageway between Londonderry and Aughnacloy go back almost 20 years, but have been beset by funding and legal issues.

The improvement scheme was given the go-ahead by Stormont ministers in October 2024.

But last year, a court ruled the Department for Infrastructure's plans for the road did not comply with climate change targets.

Today the Court of Appeal in Belfast will decide on whether to uphold or quash that High Court judgment.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing We are expecting the judgment on the future of the long-delayed A5 road project today.

We will hear whether the Court of Appeal will uphold a 2025 High Court decision that the plans breached Northern Ireland's climate change targets.

The Department for Infrastructure is challenging that decision.

Stay with us and we will bring you the latest from court and all the background to the case.