Government spends half a million pounds on 'totally pointless' seaside barrier obscuring Belfast Lough

Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson made the comments as work goes on to complete the new barrier on the Shore Road at Whiteabbey Village, next to Loughshore Park in Newtownabbey.

He called the expenditure of £525,000 “crazy”, and said the health-and-safety rationale behind it is “spurious”.

The new barrier runs along the lough front for just over 500m (c.1,800 feet), and stands over five-and-a-half feet high.

The old barrier which it is replacing stands about two-and-a-half-feet high.

A petition opposing the changes has just under 1,500 signatures at time of writing.

East Antrim MLA Mr Dickson said nearby Whiteabbey Village is an up-and-coming spot, and the barrier detracts from it.

"There's been quite an improvement in the public realm there over the years,” he said.

"It's a popular area. People walk to Loughshore Park, and they tend to walk along that stretch past the sea. It's a nice area. Then all of a sudden DFI decided that the railings on the seaside needed to be replaced."

He said the old railings had indeed got a bit rusty and maybe needed some attention, but "they've put up this enormous monstrosity of railings, and covered them in chicken wire or metal mesh which has completely obscured the view of the sea".

"They're over-the-top, ridiculous height," he said.

"Clearly - and this is just my personal opinion - somebody had some year-end money that they needed to spend, and spend quickly. And they put up the ugliest railings... all on the argument that it's health and safety.

"There has never been a single accident on that stretch of road.

"It's crazy spend on something that's unnecessary... somebody just decided they had a pot of money they needed to spend, and they've gone and spent it. They are totally, totally pointless."

He believes that the local council, Antrim and Newtownabbey, was contacted with a proposal: it could contribute money to the DFI scheme to "do something a bit more fancy" than just typical, standard railings - but a council official decided against it because they didn't have the funds.

Asked the reason for the new barrier, the Department for Infrastructure told the News Letter: “The department’s primary concern is road safety and while it is regrettable that the view is restricted, the new railings are designed to the required standards, which will provide improved road safety for all road users at this location.

"During recent safety inspections, the existing railings at this location were identified as being in a poor state of repair and needed to be replaced to ensure the safety of all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.

"As this parapet is adjacent to a cycleway / shared use path, current standards require that the height of a parapet is a minimum of 1.5m [about 4ft 11ins] to accommodate cyclists who sit at a higher level, as well as providing collision restraint for road vehicles.”

The department was then asked: Does this mean that every road by the sea – such as the seafront in Carrickfergus – is now going to have this same type of fencing installed?

It was also asked who sets the "current standards", and in what way pedestrians were at risk from the previous set of barriers.

“When any improvement to roads infrastructure is required the department must follow the agreed safety standards at the time,” it said.

"The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges is used across the north and by roads authorities in Wales, Scotland and England.

“The railings at this location were identified for replacement due to their poor state of repair and section 377 ‘requirements for road restraint systems’ (last issued January 2021) requires that the height of a parapet is a minimum of 1500mm to accommodate cyclists who sit at a higher level, as well as providing collision restraint for road vehicles.

“There are no current plans for additional works.”