Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SCOTLAND LINK A BRIDGE TOO FAR?
Four activity projects are on the move Expert says road & rail access would be ‘Celtic Powerhouse’
PLANS for four major activity projects in Belfast are moving forward, it has emerged.
Among them is an ambitious alpine toboggan, a zip line, a dome-covered pitch and the refurbishment of the existing driving range.
They’re centred around the Colin Glen Forest Park and Colin Glen Park in West Belfast.
Colin Glen Trust chief Colin O’neill said: “We have identified several unique projects for the area, the size and scale of which doesn’t exist anywhere else in Ireland.”
The first phase of the project will be the development of the domecovered pitch at Colin Park on the Blacks Road after planning permission was granted by Belfast City Council.
This will be followed by the refurbishment of the existing driving range, also at Colin Park, and the construction of an alpine toboggan and zip line in Colin Glen Forest Park.
The latter two are hoped to be completed within the next 12 months.
The tender for the toboggan is out – which is subject to receiving funding.
Mr O’neill added: “These projects will greatly improve this area and make it for more attractive for local people and visitors.
“This will add to more jobs for the area and allow us to continue to work with local young people, providing training and development chances.” A MASSIVE bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland could create a “Celtic powerhouse”, a leading architect has claimed.
Prof Alan Dunlop was speaking in the wake of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s suggestion of an English Channel bridge.
He said a combined sea and suspension railway and road bridge, like that which connects Denmark and Sweden across the Oresund Strait, could work.
Prof Dunlop said although more expensive, a bridge is the preferred option.
He added: “A bridge is much better than a tunnel for it is a dramatic, visual marker for the aspirations and ambition of a country in the 21st century and beyond.
“You could potentially see it
from Whitehaven, the Lake District and the Isle of Man, but it would be much more costly because of the geological and environmental challenges.
“However, it would also reinvigorate the area around Stranraer, potentially the Ayrshire coast from Troon to Stranraer and the whole north coast line of the Solway for people coming from the north of England.”
Prof Dunlop estimated the “Celtic bridge” would cost around £15billion and could be a better prospect.
Speaking to BBC Scotland’s John Beattie Show, he said: “It would be a wonderful thing – a connection between Scotland and Ireland. We share a lot of history together, similar ideals.
“The business potential is exceptional, the chance of actually really making an investment in what would be the true north.
“Westminster politicians talk about the northern powerhouse, but they’re really only talking about Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield. This would be an investment in what would be, I think, the true north.”
Prof Dunlop, one of the UK’S leading architects and a fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, also said it would boost both economies and help the post-brexit border issue. He said: “The challenges of it are much less than Boris’ idea of building across the
English Channel.we
YESTERDAY
don’t have the weather problems and it is a not as significant or as large a shipping lane.
“The possibilities of it are great. It would send out a dramatic marker in aspiration for the country going into the 21st century.”
Prof Dunlop added there were two potential locations for the bridge.
He said: “It could go from Portpatrick to Bangor or Larne, but there are significant environmental and geological challenges there.
“We do have incredibly talented architects and engineers in Scotland so I am sure as a technical challenge it wouldn’t be insurmountable.
“The shorter route would be from around Campbeltown, the Mull of Kintyre, across to the Antrim coast.
“But getting to Campbeltown from the central belt is very difficult.”