Author: Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS

Strangford Lough Crossing: Building the Case for Strategic Infrastructure A Comprehensive Analysis of Need, Viability, and Best Practice Delivery December 2024Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS Executive Summary The Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) represents one of Northern Ireland’s most significant unrealised infrastructure opportunities. A permanent crossing between Portaferry and Strangford would: This analysis examines the evidence base […]

Why Northern Ireland Needs to Use All 24 Hours of the Day — and Why the Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) Is a Critical First Step Northern Ireland’s long-term productivity problem is well known. Output per worker lags the UK average, investment is low, and our rural areas suffer from restricted accessibility and limited economic participation. […]

Why Northern Ireland’s Productivity Can Only Rise by Using All 24 Hours — Lessons from the World Northern Ireland consistently ranks near the bottom of UK productivity tables.The reasons are familiar: small firms, weak infrastructure, limited capital investment, rural geography, and a historic dependence on public-sector employment. But the biggest structural constraint is rarely acknowledged: […]

Do Bridges Kill Villages? What UK and Irish Evidence Really Says About Strangford–Portaferry During an Adjournment Debate on traffic flows in Newtownards, Kellie Armstrong MLA said she does “not agree with the idea of a bridge from Portaferry to Strangford”, arguing that: “The villages would end overnight because the bridge would not be where the […]

Top 20 Credible Revenue-Raising Options for Northern Ireland (Ranked by Real-World Feasibility & Yield) Northern Ireland faces a structural fiscal gap of £1–2 billion per year, leaving the Executive with two choices: raise more revenue or cut already thin public services. Here are the 20 most credible, defensible and realistic revenue-raising options, ranked from highest […]

How Many of the 29,000 Daily Journeys Would Actually Use a Strangford Bridge? One of the stock lines we hear from DfI officials is this: “You have no proof that anyone from the wider traffic corridor would use a bridge. All we know is how many vehicles use the ferry today.” On the surface that […]

Why the Ards Peninsula Is Gridlocked — And How a Strangford Crossing Fixes It If you live anywhere on the Ards Peninsula, you already know the problem:the Newtownards–Portaferry Road (A20) is bursting at the seams. Click on image below for more in depth calculations Every weekday brings the same routine: What most people don’t realise […]

Ranking Northern Ireland’s Road Schemes by Safety Priority A Neutral, Evidence-Led Assessment of Major Current and Proposed Schemes Improving road safety remains one of the most cost-effective interventions available to policymakers in Northern Ireland. While discussions about road investment often focus on economic development, regional balance or political visibility, the single most important criterion for […]