Bann-tastic!
MLAs hear about harbour regeneration plans that could lead to ‘hundreds of jobs’.
HUNDREDS of jobs could be created under new plans to transform Coleraine Port, according to Harbour Commissioners.
A hotel, student accommodation, industrial units to service off-shore windfarms and an international rowing centre are among proposals revealed to members of Stormont’s Infrastructure Committee last week.
Commissioners led by vice-chair Richard Connor were in Belfast to persuade politicians to alter legislation governing Northern Ireland’s trust ports.
Agreement would secure increased borrowing limits and powers to develop land no longer needed for “harbour purposes.”
The potential for new governance arrangements has already prompted Coleraine Commissioners to draw up a ‘2050 masterplan’ for developing the port.
Asked how its implementation could affect employment at the harbour, the consultant behind the plan, Bobby Farren said: “The numbers haven’t been worked through but we are looking at hundreds of jobs being on that site as opposed to seven.”
Read the full story in this week’s Coleraine Chronicle.