The small village of Ballyhalbert, on the eastern coast of Co. Down, a campaign to have a footpath built has been going on for many years and villagers are hopeful that this long awaited dream may be becoming a reality in the near future. At the moment, residents are forced to walk along the roadside, which is a major safety concern especially for the children who attend the local primary and secondary school.
Local Councillor Robert Adair, who has been invested in getting this project underway says that many challenges have been faced in trying to get this issue surrounding the absence of a footpath and therefore a safe passage to the heart of the village for pedestrians sorted. “It’s a lot more complicated than just deciding you need a footpath and building it. You have to ensure you have the necessary funding, you have the approval from the department of infrastructure, and ensure that you have the available land to build on.” However, he is hopeful that this project will finally begin in the next year or two. “I hope that this project brings a positive change to the Ballyhalbert community. I want people to feel safe walking around the village, especially those with young children.”
Currently, the plan is for the path not run along the shore front as it has been previously discussed and instead go through the caravan site and along the back of the houses on Shore Road and High Street, running along the decommissioned RAF Ballyhalbert airfield, that hasn’t been in use since the end of the Second World War, and joining back to the footpath at the centre of the village, across the road from the primary school which connects to footpaths that lead to shop and post primary school. This alternative route has been proposed as the road itself can be unstable due to coastal erosion as seen last year when another sink hole opened on the main road, which massively affected the traffic flow, both pedestrian and vehicular, in this stretch of road.
Local resident, Catherine Ward whose two boys attend the local secondary school said that not having a foot path impacts her daily life in many ways. “I don’t feel comfortable letting the boys walk to school, so I drop them off in the mornings, which not adds to my fuel costs but restricts my working hours.” She also commented that the lack of a safe means of foot travel limits the freedom of her children to visit their friends who live on the other side of the village. Catherine also reported that absence of footpath was a great concern to the local running club, the ‘Ballyhalbert Harriers’, who meet at the top of Shore Road, as they can’t safely run through the majority of the village. When asked if she thought this issue was taken seriously by the department of infrastructure she said, “No, because if it was ‘important’ this would have been sorted ages ago.” Then when asked to expand further she stated that, “This honestly could have been sorted years ago now, and saved a loads of hassle for me and other parents. The other side of the village had footpath added decades ago, why only that side? It seems a bit silly to do half a village.”
It is also important to note that Ballyhalbert has a great population of retirees, many of which live in a retirement community which due to the lack of footpaths leaves them disconnected from the rest of the village and venerable on the roads. The total lack of footpath makes it impossible for many of these people with mobility issues to even consider seemly simple tasks like walking to the local shop.
This project has had the backing form many local community groups, particularly the Ballyhalbert Community Association who have brought it to the press on numerous occasions as well as lobbing local councillors, MLAs and MPs, who in turn have taken it to the Department of Infrastructure. This is a very passionate project for the entire village that they are not willing to let slide easily and will continue to campaign until they feel that village is adequately safe enough for everybody to traverse. The Department of Infrastructure was contacted but did not respond to questions.
