§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications were made under Article 73 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 for permission to erect arches over roadways between 16 June and 11 July 1999; if he will list those applications(a) granted and (b) refused; of those granted, what level of public liability insurance against claims in respect of injury was required in each case; how many arches were erected where no application was made; and how many prosecutions were brought for breach of Article 73 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 during 1999. [115277]
§ Mr. George HowarthResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Roads Service under its Chief Executive Mr. C. James. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from C. James to Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, dated 21 March 2000:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to respond to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question about arches over roads.Between 16 June 1999 and 1 I July 1999, the Department's Roads Service received 4 applications under Article 73 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 for consent to erect arches over roads. In each case, consent was given and the applicant was required to have public liability insurance of £5M. These applications were in respect of arches over the following roads:
- Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim;
- North Street, Upper Ballinderry, Lisburn, County Antrim;
- Bridge Street, Edenderry, Portadown, County Armagh; and
- Garvaghy Road, Portadown, County Armagh.
At least a further 100 arches were erected over public roads where no applications for consent under Article 73 had been made. No prosecutions were brought for breaches of Article 73 during 1999.I hope this information is helpful.