Welcome news in 25 year Regional Development Strategy

Ulster Unionist Councillor Mark McKinty has welcomed the publication of the 25 year Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland by the Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy. The strategy will steer regional development in Northern Ireland up to the year 2035.

“This is excellent news for the Town and Borough of Larne in these difficult times. I was extremely concerned last year with the apparent downgrading of Larne, and being left out on a limb in terms of connection to the rest of the network” he said.

“At a Council meeting in September with the Minister, I raised my concerns with the proposed changes given that Larne is a vital gateway between Northern Ireland and Scotland. I, along with my colleagues in the UUP, urged the Minister to look again at the Review and Larne’s key position within the Regional Development Strategy.”

The Regional Development Strategy (RDS) document is the result of extensive public consultation, and stakeholder engagement with local government, business, academia, environmental and community groups. 

The RDS addresses key issues including government approach to balanced regional growth, sustainable communities and the challenge of tackling climate change.

Speaking at the launch in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast Danny Kennedy said: “The Regional Development Strategy, provides an overarching strategic planning framework to facilitate and guide the public and private sectors. It drives to deliver a cohesive cross Departmental strategic approach to regional development.

“The strategy is a key document within the planning system and sets out guidance for the preparation of development plans and policy, helping drive urban regeneration initiatives and sits within the new European policy approach to regional redevelopment. We have many challenges ahead, but working together as key stakeholders I am confident that we can rise to those challenges and work in partnership to deliver this Strategy.”

Speaking about the consultation process, Cllr McKinty was pleased that concerns from Larne had been addressed. “The proposal from the previous Minister Conor Murphy would have seen Larne lose its sub-regional centre status, whilst places like Downpatrick and Newtownards would be given more importance. This was nonsensical – we have Northern Ireland’s second largest Port, with connections to the rest of the Province, the A8 road scheme is soon to begin, and Larne is the gateway to the Glens”.

“Thanks to lobbying and discussion with the Department, Larne will now be classed as a gateway and a main hub. Visibly ‘out on a limb’ in the initial proposal, Larne will now be clustered with Antrim and Ballymena to promote economic growth.”

“It was of utmost importance for the people of Larne that our geographical and economic importance be recognised, and I am delighted that the RDS now provides the framework for future growth and development which will benefit the Borough of Larne”.

(The full text of the Regional Development Strategy is available at http://www.drdni.gov.uk/RDS2035 )

All roads lead to Larne... (2)

(Continued from previous post)

These two road upgrades are most welcome for the East Antrim area. The A8 improvements will directly benefit Larne Town in many ways: improved journey between Belfast and Port of Larne, better infrastructure for local businesses, especially those with Heavy Goods Vehicles, improved journey times for commuters - all making Larne a more attractive destination.

This is very important for future economic development in the Larne Borough. Potential investors will welcome the increased connectivity between Larne and Belfast, business through the Port of Larne - the second largest in NI - will be strengthened, and Larne's position as a Regional Hub within Northern Ireland is further highlighted.

Meanwhile, Carrickfergus should be equally pleased with the news of the A2 bottleneck at Greenisland, which will have similar benefits for that Town as those stated above for Larne. However, the A2 development will also benefit the Borough of Larne (hence the title!). For residents in the south of the Borough, including Magheramorne, Ballycarry and Islandmagee, the quickest way to Belfast is often through Carrickfergus.

I speak with personal experience: travelling to Belfast in the morning, I have often sat in the traffic at the bottleneck (sometimes waiting more than 1 hour to get from Trooperslane to Jordanstown) and then taken the A8 back to Larne Town in the afternoon, with very few options to safely overtake slower-moving traffic heading to the Ferry. I wholeheartedly welcome both of these projects, and look forward to their speedy completion.

Meanwhile, off the roads... the Larne Line Passenger Group continues to press Translink on their Larne Line service - I look forward to meetings with DRD and Translink officials over the coming weeks, and continuing to support the LLPG at their public meeting in Larne's McNeil Theatre on TUESDAY 6TH MARCH!

All roads lead to Larne... (1)

Some exciting news this morning from the Department of Regional Development.

Ulster Unionist Party colleague and Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy has secured almost £500million investment in road infrastructure, balanced across Northern Ireland, with the potential to create an estimated 2,500 jobs over four years.

Included in the planned works are the A8 Belfast to Larne project and a scheme to dual the A2 Shore Road at Greenisland.

The Minister said: “This investment will provide a significant boost to the local economy and help to encourage inward investment. It will provide job security for many and create, much needed, jobs in the construction industry, across environmental and engineering consultancies, suppliers, contractors, infrastructure specialists and others. It will also offer opportunities for the long-term unemployed, apprentices and students.

“In the longer term it will serve as a catalyst for wider economic growth. If we want Northern Ireland to prosper we have to construct the infrastructure to enable us to compete effectively.”

The A8 is one of five key transport corridors indentified in the Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland. These improvements will dual key transport corridors, improve road safety and reduce journey times.

The Minister said: “The improvements to the A8, between Ballyclare and Larne, will complete a minimum of dual carriageway standard on the Eastern Seaboard corridor, reducing journey times, improving safety and supporting the continued development of the Port of Larne, Northern Ireland's second largest port."

“The A2 project will widen 2.4km of the single carriageway, between Jordanstown and Seapark, and improve safety for pedestrians with the provision of new footpaths. Identified in the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan, the new dual carriageway will alleviate congestion for the 35,000 motorists who travel between East Antrim and Belfast every day.”

Danny Kennedy added: “Subject to the outcome of the public inquiries that were held last summer, construction work may begin on the A8 as early as this spring, with the A5 works starting in early autumn. A procurement competition will be initiated for the A2 Shore Road project, which should see work commencing early in 2013.

Roy Beggs, Ulster Unionist MLA for East Antrim said, “These two major projects will benefit local quarries and create and sustain construction jobs.  In addition, the improved roads network to Larne and Carrickfergus from Belfast will make East Antrim more attractive as a location for further private sector investment and jobs.”

A8 Belfast to Larne:

· The A8 project will complete the dualling of the Eastern Seaboard Corridor between Larne and Dublin (Approximately 14km).

· After publication of Draft Statutory Orders and the Environmental Statement in January 2011 a public inquiry was held in June 2011. The inspector’s report has been received and is being considered.

· The A8, subject to the outcome of the public inquiry, could commence on the ground in April/May 2012.

· The exact cost of this scheme will not be established until the outcome of the public inquiry process is known. However it is anticipated that the overall cost of the A8 project will be in the £110 million - £120 million range.

· The appointed contractor is Lagan/Ferrovial/Costain.

A2 Shore Road, Greenisland:

· This scheme will widen the 2.5 kilometre section of single carriageway on the A2 at Greenisland, between Jordanstown and Seapark, to 4 lanes.

· A Public Inquiry was held in October 2007 with the Inspector’s Report into the Public Inquiry published in September 2008. On consideration of the Inspector’s recommendations, my Department published the Direction Order and the Notice of Intention to Proceed in October 2008.

· This scheme is ready to proceed to procurement straight away.

· The A2, subject to a successful procurement process, could commence construction early in 2013.

· The overall cost of the A2 project will be in the £50 million - £60 million range.

· Contractor yet to be appointed.

Anchor Post

Just a short post here to make readers aware that my blog has been down for a while. I have some past stories and photos to put up from the past few months. To keep up to date, I will also be posting current news and information. Looking forward to engaging again with residents of Larne Borough through this blog...

Nominations are in!

Last Thursday our two East Antrim MLA candidates for the NI Assembly at Stormont were officially nominated. A number of Council candidates and Party members joined the candidates and their Election Agents at the Newtownabbey Electoral Office. Roy Beggs, our current MLA, and Rodney McCune will be two excellent representatives and I wish them all the best on 5th May.

Later that night, two teams set out to begin putting up the posters for the campaign. The posters look great and we managed to get over 100 posters up before 1.30am!

On Monday morning, our Carrickfergus Council candidates were nominated (John Stewart, Andrew Wilson, Beryl McKnight, Cathy Vizard and Cllr. Eric Ferguson) and 3 of our Larne Council candidates were nominated that afternoon (Alderman Roy Beggs, Cllr. Andy Wilson and Maureen Morrow). Again, I wish the best of luck to this excellent group of candidates on 5th May!

I was finally nominated yesterday with Darin Ferguson, and the campaign has now officially started, exactly one month before election day. I was greatly encouraged by the words of support given to me when speaking to the 10 people who nominated me, and I am looking forward to a very busy month ahead.

Election leaflets should be arriving tomorrow, and posters by the weekend. Remember to contact me or any of the team if you have any questions or suggestions. On May 5th vote UUP, dedicated local voices listening to local people and working for YOU!

Connecting YOUR Council

As a Candidate for Larne Borough Council, one of my aims is to engage more people with the Council, especially young people. I want more people to take an interest in what the Council is doing in their name, since the Council represents the people of Larne.

There are many  ways in which this could be achieved: through better use of the Internet and social networking sites to keep people up to date and connected with the Council, working closely with the schools and other organisations in the borough to allow young people to experience the Council Chamber when it is sitting. 

Ultimately, I would like to see Larne Borough Council leading the way with a Youth Council. This would not only engage young people with the Council hopefully into their later years, but it would also give them the platform to express their concerns and ideas in a way that would help the Council to connect with the youth, making the communication two-way.

Currently, the main ways for people to know what is happening in the Council Chamber are to attend meetings in person, or to read the minutes online. Since it has been exactly 2 months since the last set of minutes was uploaded to the website, I have written the following letter to Geraldine McGahey, the Chief Executive of Larne Borough Council. I await her reply...

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24 March 2011

FAO: The Chief Executive

Dear Geraldine,

I am writing to enquire about Larne Borough Council’s procedures for publishing Council and Committee minutes on its website. As of today, the last available minutes are from 24^th January 2011 – exactly two months ago. During this period, two separate organisations in which I am involved have been the subject of business in various meetings, yet we are unable to view the relevant minutes.

Being the Secretary of several organisations, I know the importance of preparing official minutes as soon as possible after a meeting in order that all action points may be dealt with. I assume that the minutes of Council and Committee meetings for February and March have been prepared but not uploaded to the website.

I myself have previously made use of the availability of Council minutes online, and I know others who do the same. Publishing all minutes on the LBC website is not only good practice in making the proceedings publically available, but it also helps to engage members of the general public and those organisations affected by and with an interest in Council proceedings.

I should be grateful if you could advise me as to the procedure followed by those concerned with the taking and preparation of minutes, and would urge you to encourage prompt preparation and publishing of these documents as soon as possible after the meeting takes place.

Looking forward to receiving your reply, and awaiting the publication of the minutes,

Yours sincerely

Mark R W McKinty

Building Strong Leadership in Ballycarry!

I am pleased to be one of 5 members from Ballycarry Community Association (along with David, Carla, Lesley, and Carol) taking part in the Community Leadership Programme (CLP) organised by NICVA and funded by the International Fund for Ireland. This is the third (and final) year of the course, which will be a huge boost for the Ballycarry community.

Through training, facilitation and workshops the CLP will empower our group to make real differences in the local community. It will help the local community to take ownership of our  development and offers external support from NICVA and the University of Ulster. This programme will build the capacity of Ballycarry Community Association so that we will be able to work together to address issues, network with others and influence policies that effect local people’s lives. More importantly, however, we will be able to run a Community Association which is a vibrant group, organising events which matter to the people of Ballycarry.

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago at the first Round Table event, held in Galgorm, at which we met our facilitator, Bernard Black, got to hear from other successful groups in the programme, and had a really useful brainstorming session about what areas we need to improve on. I am looking forward to taking part in the workshops over the coming year, which will no doubt compliment the encouraging work of the revitalised Community Association over the past year.

 Our first session with our facilitator will be held in the Community Centre later this month, and then NICVA will carry out a governance survey on how the Association is actually run, making suggestions for improvement. The programme will also give us the opportunity to test our new and improved skills in organising a project in the Village, funded by the IFI.

Thanks must go to Dr. David Hume MBE for his hard work in securing this fantastic opportunity for the Ballycarry community. I'm sure I will update in the near future with more information on how we are all getting on...