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Sixty-Six Years of Excuses: A Letter to Those Who Had Their Chance

For sixty-six years, every proposal for a permanent crossing at Strangford Lough has met the same answer: too costly, no demand, not now. Twelve schemes. Twelve rejections. The reasons shifted with each decade. The conclusion never did.

The record is now documented. Freedom of information disclosures have shown that the Department’s own cost estimate was described by its author as a “guesstimate” (DFI-2024-0412). The ferry operates at 34 per cent of capacity. Wages on the Ards Peninsula are the lowest in Northern Ireland. Emergency vehicles are time-barred from communities after 22:45 every night.

This post is for those who had the power to act and chose not to. It is also for those who still think the ditch is a comfortable place to sit.

The campaign is not asking for a bridge. It is asking for a study. After sixty-six years, that should not be a difficult question to answer.

(Note: Both councils have voiced their unofficial support towards feasibility study request. Formal support pending)

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