Mid Ulster District Council has confirmed that plans for the project will be progressed after a delegation met with the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Infrastructure, Peter May, last month to lobby for the scheme's development to resume.
Development work will include the undertaking of new surveys and a design review before moving to the production of draft statutory orders and an Environmental Impact Assessment Report.
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A preferred route for the bypass was approved in March 2010. However, a lack of funding delayed any progress until 2016 when monies were made available for preparatory work. Further work was again hampered by budgetary uncertainties until recently.
Welcoming the news, Cllr Kim Ashton said: "The development of the Cookstown bypass has long been identified as one of Mid Ulster's strategic road infrastructure needs, and is essential to ensure we address transport links which are vital not just for our businesses, particularly our manufacturing sector, to grow, but also for making improvements to the journey times for local people.
"This is good news for Cookstown and for Mid Ulster and I am very pleased that we have had such a swift response and positive outcome following the Council's meeting with the Department."
(LM/MH)
