asked Her Majesty's Government:

When the process of putting new street lights on the Earlswood Road, East Belfast commenced; when it is planned that the works will be completed; and why no work has been carried out during the past two months. [HL617]

The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the noble Lord in response to this Question.

Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin to Lord Laird

You recently asked Her Majesty's Government a Parliamentary Question about when the process of putting new street lights on the Earlswood Road, East Belfast commenced; when it is planned that the works will be completed; and why no work has been carried out during the past two months. As these issues fall within my responsibility as chief executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.

Work on the replacement of the old existing street lighting on Earlswood Road commenced in July 2006. At that time, it was anticipated that it would be completed by September 2006. Unfortunately, during the execution of the work, it was found that the proposed location of the Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) supply control point was unsuitable due to the presence of other underground services.

I am pleased to report that following discussions with NIE, a new location for the supply control point has been found and that it is now planned to have the new lighting operational by 5 January 2007.

In the mean time, Roads Service will continue to maintain the existing street lights. I hope this information is helpful.