It is nearly 20 years since the Stormont Executive confirmed its intention to take forward an A5 upgrade over a 58-mile route between Aughnacloy and New Buildings.

Over the period since then, the project has been delayed by various public inquiries and legal challenges. The latest legal issue arose following an announcement by former Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd in October 2024 that he intended to proceed with a 34-mile stretch from just south of Strabane to outside Ballygawley.

A month later, his department made vesting orders, operative on 25 November 2024, with around 2,000 acres of land to be acquired from farmers. However, by June 2025, that decision to proceed had been overturned in the High Court after a judge cited the lack of evidence to show the new road would be compliant with 2022 DAERA climate change legislation.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Infrastructure department appealed and on Tuesday Lady Chief Justice Keegan ruled in its favour, describing the project as a “priority investment” for NI.

While it remains to be seen whether legal arguments end up in the UK Supreme Court, there is now renewed momentum behind the whole £1.7bn project.

However, what must not be forgotten is the farmers who have faced so much uncertainty in recent years. Those who had land vested in November 2024, saw it returned in June 2025.

On Tuesday, current Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins suggested the land will now revert to the ownership of her department, but it will remain at November 2024 values.

However, our annual NI land price survey showed that land values in Tyrone increased by 24% or £3,436/ac in 2025 to £17,578/ac, with a big range across the county and some deals for bare land getting close to £25,000/ac last year.

Our analysis also suggests the market is up again in 2026, with deals above £30,000/ac in some cases. We expect the Tyrone average in 2026 could be over £6,000/ac more than in 2024.

It will be incredibly unfair if impacted farmers have to accept 2024 land values, given where 2026 prices are now at. Contractors building the road, certainly won’t be working at 2024 rates.