In conjunction with the Business Committee, the Speaker has given leave to Robbie Butler to raise the matter of traffic chaos affecting villages in Lagan Valley. I call Robbie Butler, who has up to 15 minutes.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Do I need to move this? I just get up and open the debate, yes?

Yes.

Thank you. I will wait until you change the Chair, if that is OK.

(Mr Deputy Speaker [Dr Aiken] in the Chair)

I call Robbie Butler. You have 15 minutes.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Minister for giving his time and I thank those Members who have turned up to discuss an issue that strikes at the heart of community safety and well-being: the traffic chaos around villages, not only in Lagan Valley but right across Northern Ireland. I will speak particularly about Royal Hillsborough, Moira and Dromore.

As we all know and the Minister knows, Lagan Valley is renowned for its beauty and vibrant community spirit, yet those very qualities are under threat from an escalating traffic crisis that demands our immediate attention. I begin, however, by addressing a tragedy that deeply affected us all, which was the heartbreaking loss of a one-year-old baby boy in Moira in 2023. That devastating incident is a poignant reminder of the urgent need to enhance pedestrian safety across all our villages. We are discussing villages in Lagan Valley in particular today, but, tragically, that was not an isolated case: numerous serious accidents and an alarming number of daily near misses underscore the dangerous conditions of our roads.

Since 2016, I have consistently raised concerns with the Department about the volume of heavy goods vehicles travelling through Culcavy via Royal Hillsborough. The impact of those large vehicles on our narrow roads is profound. The vehicles pose significant risks to pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists, and their presence is simply incompatible with the quaint, pedestrian-friendly nature of our villages.

The historic village of Moira is hampered daily by horrendous traffic queues that extend way back to the country-bound M1. Evidently, that is not what anyone wants, and I know that it is not what the Minister wants. Drivers sit for an hour or more to travel half a mile, and cars tail back onto the motorway. It simply increases driver and traffic risk, is bad for the environment and is hugely inconvenient.

On-street parking is another critical issue that is worsened by the limited availability of off-street parking in Moira, Hillsborough and Dromore. The situation creates dangerous conditions where parked cars obstruct visibility and force pedestrians to navigate perilously close to moving traffic. Every day, the safety of our residents, especially that of children and the elderly, is compromised.

The regrettable consequences of the draft Belfast metropolitan area plan (BMAP) have further exacerbated the challenges. The plan has led to what can only be described as uncontrolled building without the necessary infrastructure to support the additional pressures on our roads. The result is increased traffic volume and congestion that places an unsustainable strain on our already overburdened road network.

We must confront the reality that, unless we find solutions to alleviate the chaos, we risk hastening the deterioration, destruction and collapse of our roads, pathways, environment and waterways. How can we continue to call Lagan Valley one of the most desirable places in which to live in Northern Ireland when our residents' safety is continually at risk?

In order to address those pressing issues, we need a comprehensive and immediate strategy that includes enhanced traffic calming measures and perhaps implements speed bumps, chicanes and other traffic calming solutions to reduce vehicle speeds, particularly in residential areas and near schools; HGV restrictions that enforce stricter regulations on the movement of HGVs through village centres to mitigate the risks that they pose; improved parking solutions that develop additional off-street parking facilities to alleviate on-street parking chaos; and infrastructure development that ensures that any future development is accompanied by necessary infrastructure to support increased traffic, including better road designs and pedestrian pathways. Most importantly, perhaps, or certainly up there, is community engagement, which would involve local residents in the planning process to ensure that their voices are heard and their safety is prioritised. The Member for Lagan Valley Mr Honeyford is with me today, and he and I were at a residents' meeting in Hillsborough last week where the overriding call from residents was for community engagement. Regular safety audits of our roads and pathways should be conducted so that potential hazards can be addressed promptly.

As I close, I want to honour again the memory of those whom we have lost by committing today to making our roads safer, particularly around Lagan Valley. It is not just a matter of convenience but a matter of life and death. Together we can work towards a future where the beauty of Lagan Valley is matched by the safety and well-being of its residents. I believe that we must act now to preserve the charm and appeal of our villages and ensure that Lagan Valley remains a desirable and safe place to live for generations. Once again, I thank the Minister for his attendance, and I look forward to hearing his response.

In speaking on the issue, although I will highlight some concerns, I will point to where significant progress has been made in Lagan Valley over the years. Of course, there have been fatalities, and with each of those is a family that has been deeply impacted. People have been seriously injured on our roads throughout the Lagan Valley constituency. It is about how we seek to find the solutions by working with the Department for Infrastructure and community organisations and how new housing areas are developed and developer-led schemes are tied in.

When I was first elected in 2010 and spoke in the House, one of the biggest areas that we campaigned on was the LD1 development zone in Lisburn. That was along the Prince William Road/Knockmore Road, where thousands of houses were given planning approval. Part of the condition that was attached to that was the improvement of junctions. The Ballinderry Road/Knockmore Road crossroads, the Prince William Road/Knockmore Road junction and the Ballymacash Road/Prince William Road/Knockmore Road junction were three significant junctions that were tied into conditions for that development, but those conditions were not enforced. This goes back to when I met Danny Kennedy, who was the Minister at the time, and I was not able to get the progress that was needed back then. That is how far back it goes. Houses continued to be developed despite being in breach of that condition, and the planning authority was not enforcing it. It then transferred to the councils, which took on responsibility. They did not enforce the conditions. There was an exponential increase in traffic volumes.

Over the years, we engaged to try to get those junctions improved, and I remember going past that Ballinderry Road junction after a gentleman had just been knocked over and, sadly, passed away. I can visualise that body as I drove past, frustrated that we still had not improved that junction. We got the junction improved. We worked with the Roads Service, as it was then called, and it worked with the developer and designed a scheme. Traffic lights were put in, and the junction was much safer. Then we got to working on the Prince William Road/Knockmore Road junction beside Laurelhill Community College. That was a multimillion-pound enhancement, and we got it delivered. At Prince William Road/Ballymacash Road, only in the past number of weeks, another major scheme has been completed, and we then tied that into a housing development in the Ballymacash area so that that could be achieved.

Therefore, whilst I certainly agree that there are traffic problems in the Lagan Valley constituency, it is about how you go about finding solutions. I have worked over the years with colleagues to get those solutions, but more needs to be achieved. I look at those three major junction improvements and at the north Lisburn feeder road, which was put in many years ago. All of those were funded by developer-led contributions. None of them was funded by the taxpayer. Therefore, the question and the challenge, I think, is to find out why developers are funding all these schemes. On the one hand, I agree with that practice but, on the other hand, it adds to the cost of purchasing a house. We need to look at the balance between developer-led and publicly funded schemes.

To the credit of DFI Roads and the Department for Infrastructure, I think of the Ballinderry Road/Lissue Road/Moneybroom Road crossroads. That was a dangerous junction, but DFI Roads stepped in, widened it and significantly improved it to provide safety. There are examples where the taxpayer has stepped in and changes have been made. However, I share the frustration when I see the daily commute through Moira to Magheralin, Dollingstown and on into Lurgan. I think of the lost opportunity to have a bypass put in place in Moira, given the significant increase in housing there. Are we ever going to have a publicly funded bypass put in place there? I would certainly support one, but I also know the significant expenditure that would be involved.

My colleague Jonathan Buckley and I were at the public meeting in Hillsborough, and he addressed those who were in attendance. We recognised the frustration that residents were expressing about future housing development. There is a balance to be struck when it comes to allowing development in certain areas if you know that doing so will increase demand on an already overstretched roads network. It is about how we make that safe for people.

Those are the challenges. I know that the Minister will want to support us in Lagan Valley to try to address some of those issues. There has been good work and there are challenges that remain. I am committed to working alongside the Minister and colleagues to find solutions. In Lagan Valley, the public expect us to not just point out the problem but to identify the solution.

Thank you, Paul. I call David Honeyford. You have up to seven minutes.

OK. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I welcome this debate and I associate myself with Robbie and Paul's comments about the loss, in devastating circumstances, last year in Moira. There have been others in the area. As has been said, we have a real problem in our villages in Lagan Valley. That is evident in Hillsborough and Moira, but there are traffic issues in other villages.

This is not a problem that has happened all of a sudden; it is the outworking of decisions to build and extend housing in those villages 20 and 25 years ago. Importantly, however, it is not the building of houses that is the problem, but doing so without the necessary vision and without upgrading the infrastructure in the area to support those houses.

Large amounts of land were zoned for housing without adequate public transport investment or connections, or road infrastructure that was capable of carrying the resulting levels of traffic. Paul just mentioned a bypass for Moira. I will always support that because something needs to be done there, but we are talking about that after the fact; it should have happened first. It is about having the vision to put the infrastructure in first and then allow housing, rather than the other way around.

Our village centres are expected to be able to cope. Hillsborough has been destroyed by heavy goods vehicles using the main street as the shortest through route. Those streets were designed to carry a horse and cart. The Georgian buildings there were erected without foundations, so they vibrate when large lorries travel through the village. I appreciate that there are lorries that need to drop off goods to the businesses there, but the majority of them are using it as a way through. Something has to be done about that, and I know that the Minister has it on his desk. It is certainly something that we have raised previously with the permanent secretary.

I have to compliment DFI for its work on a stretch of road in Aghalee, which has a weight limit. Heavy goods vehicle were using that road because it was the easiest way for them to go. Those lorries were from a distribution company just down the road that provides a lot of employment in the area, so there was a balance to be struck. To its credit, however, DFI upgraded that road and sorted out the problem, allowing the residents to live in peace. That should have been done as part of the previous planning process; it should not have to be done retrospectively.

When we look at the new local development plan, we have zoned a large amount of land at Blaris, which will, effectively, create a new village in Lagan Valley. A new link road is planned from Sprucefield up to the Moira Road.

Off the top of my head, I would say that approximately 3,000 to 3,500 houses are to be built on that land. A single developer came forward with an application for a new road and to build housing on approximately half of that land. I supported the road application, but, through the planning process, I went up against the DUP MP at that time — in fact, they are still the MP — on the housing application. The reason for that was simply that we were creating another problem.

We have a problem in Hillsborough, Moira and everywhere else, and here we go yet again. From the start, we are hitting out and building houses that fall outside the development plan. Some of those houses are on a floodplain. We are giving too much economic land over to housing and losing the opportunity to create jobs. Fundamentally, we are not providing any social housing at all in the area, although that was in the proposal. They have now compromised at 10%, which is still way below what is needed in our area. Additionally, there is no school or GP provision, so the wider infrastructure for the new community that we are building is completely lacking. We have a problem in our villages because of those decisions, which were taken 20 years ago. We cannot start that cycle again. I appreciate that the Department came in and overturned that decision, but Sorcha and I, our council team and, to be fair, every elected Member in Lagan Valley have been trying to raise those issues and find solutions.

The weight limit in Hillsborough could be implemented simply by the Department. The previous Minister agreed to that, but then this place collapsed, and it did not happen. There are parking problems there as well. We need to look at that. If we are to use Hillsborough for tourism, we need to look at parking and at being able to get in and out of the village in a much simpler fashion. Sorcha and I lobbied the permanent secretary on those matters on behalf of residents when this place was not functioning.

I will raise the issue of connectivity between Moira village and the train station again — I raise it all the time. We absolutely, fundamentally support extending that park-and-ride. That needs to happen as soon as possible. To try to provide an alternative to using the car, we also need to link the village to the park-and-ride so that people can walk and cycle safely in a lit environment, as well as ensuring that public transport is on offer, available and easy to access.

Paul mentioned the bypass. We appreciate that that is not a simple thing to do, but there are things that can be done to help, and we should do all that we can to get to work and provide a safe environment for everybody.

Minister, you have up to 10 minutes.

I thank Mr Butler for securing this important debate on traffic issues that affect villages in the Lagan Valley constituency. I thank other Members for their contributions.

The two key transport corridors across the area — the M1 and the A1 — connect Lagan Valley to the regional strategic transport network, which provides long-distance connections to our cities, main towns and major gateways. The Belfast to Dublin railway line also intersects Lagan Valley, offering access to not only Belfast and Dublin but locations such as Newry, Lisburn, Bangor and Derry. The routes are strategically important to the economy of our island, to businesses and to residents. Although those roads bring economic benefits, their popularity contributes to some of the traffic issues outlined by Members in the debate. While Lagan Valley benefits from those transport connections, which offer accessibility across the North, its proximity to the Belfast metropolitan area also means that many people travel through Lagan Valley and use it as a gateway to Belfast. I am aware that that creates challenges, with a high volume of traffic in villages that are close to key junctions with the A1 and M1, most notably at Royal Hillsborough and Moira. While much of the traffic in those areas is locally generated, a significant proportion of the traffic that passes through the villages does so to access the A1 and M1 routes. I am acutely aware that excessive traffic volumes can adversely affect residents' enjoyment of their areas, and I fully acknowledge the frustration of commuters and the local community who are impacted by it. As Members have said, our towns and villages should be pleasant and, more importantly, safe places in which to live and work.

I will now turn to road safety. A consequence of high traffic volumes in our towns and villages that concerns me most is the impact on road safety, which is an issue that affects all of us in our everyday lives. Although we have a personal responsibility to travel in a way that keeps us safe, we must also appreciate our shared responsibility to other road users. My Department's role in contributing to that responsibility is very important to me.

Unfortunately, road safety statistics have been following a very worrying trend. Last year, 71 people died on our roads. That is the highest figure in the past eight years, and it is significantly higher than in 2022, when 55 people lost their lives. I am also aware of the number of serious road traffic collisions that have occurred across Lagan Valley in recent years. At the forefront of our minds is, as Members have mentioned, the tragic death of an infant in Moira in 2023. I know the family, and I know the devastating consequences that the loss has had on them. Every life lost is a tragedy for those involved, and that is why road safety is one of my highest priorities as Minister for Infrastructure. One of the best ways in which to ensure safety on our roads and to fulfil the long-term goal of eliminating death and serious injury by 2050 is to change the behaviour of road users. As road users, we all have a personal responsibility to behave in a way that keeps us and others safe. The sad reality is that, if we do not change our attitudes when using the roads, our death toll will continue to rise.

Historically, our transport network has been designed for the private car. There is, however, global acceptance that that approach is no longer sustainable and that more sustainable modes of transport should be promoted. Our transport system is a key enabler and is critical for most aspects of our lives. I am very aware of the impact that excess traffic congestion can have on residents, particularly its impact on accessibility, air quality and noise. To help address those issues, my Department is developing a transport strategy and a suite of transport plans that will establish a framework for making transport policy and investment decisions up to 2035. The plans will aim to drive improvements to our transport network and to favour sustainable modes of transport such as active travel. In developing the transport plans, we will consider how transport can support safe, inclusive and connected towns and villages, including those in Lagan Valley.

I am very aware of, and sympathetic to, the long-standing desire of Royal Hillsborough residents to reduce the volume of HGV traffic going through the village, primarily with a view to improving road safety but also to reduce the impact that such vehicles have on the local environment in Hillsborough. I understand that, in the past few years, there have been a number of proposals to implement a weight limit in the village in order to reduce the volume of HGV traffic. The most recent suggestion proposed a weight limit for the whole village, including Carnreagh Road and part of Carnreagh. Such a proposal would require HGVs to divert on to other local roads around the village. To understand fully the impact of that proposal, my officials have commissioned an assessment of suitability of the possible alternative routes for HGV traffic. That work will help inform the relative merits of the weight limit proposals, in particular the impacts on road safety in the village and on the surrounding road networks. I am pleased to inform Members that the alternative routes study was carried out earlier in June, and I expect the outcome of the assessment to be with my officials by autumn of this year. I will report to Members on its findings.

As I mentioned earlier, road safety is one of my highest priorities. In the past three years, I am aware that there have been two road traffic collisions in Hillsborough that have resulted in serious injuries to pedestrians, while an elderly lady was injured by a HGV in October of last year. I therefore fully appreciate the importance of having safe pedestrian crossing facilities in the village. I understand that Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council is advancing a proposal for a public realm scheme in the village. In developing the scheme, my officials have worked, and will continue to work, with the council to provide enhanced pedestrian facilities in the village. In a meeting with officials last November, representatives from the local village and district committee requested the provision of controlled crossings at three locations in the village: on Main Street, at the Plough Inn and at the local primary school. I am pleased to report that my officials have recently carried out pedestrian crossing surveys and are now considering their findings to ascertain the most appropriate locations for enhanced pedestrian facilities in the village.

I am also aware of the long-standing concerns of Moira residents about traffic congestion and road safety in the village. I note that there have been 15 reportable collisions in Moira in the past three years, five of which resulted in death or serious injury. That is an extremely worrying statistic, and, as all Members know, behind every statistic is a person and a family. My Department's focus in recent years has been on mitigating the effects of through traffic on the village and improving road safety. My officials commissioned consultants to consider options to improve traffic flow in Moira, especially during the morning and evening peak times. As a result, they carried out the signalisation of the Main Street/Meeting Street junction and road marking schemes to provide right-turn pockets into local retail sites and a garage outlet between the Backwood Road and Old Kilmore Road junction. In addition, my officials are currently considering how the road layout can be improved at the junction of Meeting Street and Main Street in the village.

The future transport needs of Moira village will be considered as part of the eastern transport plan that is being developed by my Department. The plan will take into account the growth and ambitions of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and other councils in the catchment area, as was mentioned earlier. We have to work with a plan in mind, rather than simply adding on and adding on without one. The plan will be advanced in conjunction with the local development plans of the five councils, including Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, and will be subject to full public consultation. Further information about that can be found on my Department's website. In the interim, my officials will continue to monitor traffic and road safety issues in the village.

I thank Robbie for bringing the Adjournment debate to the House, as well as all those who have contributed to the debate today. I assure Members that I will continue to work with them and the local community in Lagan Valley to carry out whatever measures we can within the limited resources and finances that are available to my Department to improve road safety and the lifestyle of the people who live in the villages of Lagan Valley.

I thank the Minister and those who took part in the debate.

Adjourned at 3.42 pm.