G8 summit: Road works in NI to stop for 11 days

The G8 summit will be held at Lough Erne golf resort in County Fermanagh

Construction work on many of Northern Ireland's main roads is to be stopped for 11 days next month because of the G8 conference summit in Fermanagh.

According to a Roads Service memo, a moratorium has been placed on road and street works.

Roads Service has told some utility companies that no work can take place on motorways and main trunk roads.

The Department for Regional Development (DRD) said the move followed a request from the police.

Most of Northern Ireland's A and B road network is also covered by the directive, which states that routes around Belfast and the Giants Causeway should also be kept free in the run up to and during the G8 summit.

Improvement work on the Shore Road in Belfast and the Belfast to Larne route will not be affected.

The body which represents road builders has expressed concern about the potential for lost earnings and said the moratorium is excessive.

The assembly of world leaders is to have their annual meeting at the Lough Erne resort in Enniskillen on 17 and 18 June.

It will be the first time the summit has been hosted in the United Kingdom since it was held at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2005.