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Beyond May 2027: Hope, With a Price Tag Why a £250,000 study could unlock the Ards Peninsula and Newry, Mourne and Down, whatever the future holds On the steps of Downing Street on 20 July 2026, the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, called it “the moment we bring back hope”. He promised to carry power […]

The A5 Can Now Be Built. It Is Time to Plan Infrastructure the Proper Way. 7 October 2026 This week belongs to the families of Tyrone. More than 50 people have died on the A5 since 2006 (Pinsent Masons, Out-Law, 11 August 2025). Behind that figure are parents, children and neighbours, and a community that […]

Three Apps from QUINTIN QS: Better Information for a Better Life Made in Ulster. Built to make useful information more accessible. In Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren, the economist John Maynard Keynes imagined a future in which people could live “wisely and agreeably and well.” That ambition provides a useful question for any new tool: […]

The Ferry, the Timetable and the 75 km Detour What is happening to the Strangford ferry, who is using it, and what everyone else is doing instead. Ask any low-cost airline three questions about a route: how old is the aircraft, how full is it, and what are the customers who didn’t fly doing instead? […]

The Cheapest Litre Is the One You Never Burn: The Strangford Lough Crossing as a Fuel Hedge Diesel has hit a record £2 a litre across the UK, and the Ards Peninsula is not far behind. Nobody in Portaferry or Lecale can control the pump price. What public policy can change is how many litres […]

Futuristic newspaper front page Sixty Years of “Not Viable” — and the Dashboard That Asks Whether That’s Still True Blog post and dashboard updated Monday 23 September 2026 Why this post, why now For many months, the Strangford Lough Crossing campaign has been making one argument, in plain language and on the record: the case […]

Eight Months to Polling Day: Will the Money Get Tested, or Just the Photo Opportunities? A blog post for the Strangford Lough Crossing campaign Northern Ireland’s voters go to the polls twice on the same day next year: council elections and Assembly elections, together, on 6 May 2027. Every capital project, every subsidy line and […]

Which SiteIQ Scout Is Right for You? SiteIQ Scout now offers three different ways to discover more about the places you travel through. Whether you simply want to know the name of the townland you are entering, hear useful local updates, or identify potential property opportunities, there is a level designed for you. All three […]

Click on images for CPD Dashboard Britain and Ireland’s Infrastructure Problem Is No Longer Hidden The September 2026 update to the CPD infrastructure dashboards gives the public a clearer view of a problem that is usually buried in separate press releases, committee papers and project webpages. Across 240 major schemes in Northern Ireland, the Republic […]

The Department Answered a Question We Never Asked Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | www.strangfordloughcrossing.org The Department for Infrastructure wrote to us again on 28 August 2026. Reading it carefully, something stands out: they’ve spent two pages arguing against a question we never actually asked. They have come back with Point 1 on the whiteboard, as […]

Would a Permanent Strangford Lough Crossing Help or Harm the Ards Peninsula and County Down? A Review of the International Evidence Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign — www.strangfordloughcrossing.org Executive Summary This question is asked honestly and often, including by local business owners with a direct economic interest in the status quo. It deserves a straight answer […]

Narrow Water Bridge: a new crossing with big hopes for tourism and growth (Update: Transport Logistics) Photos from Belgium where prefabricated part being made and preparing for delivery to Ireland Update: 24-08-2026 (Transport Logistics) Transport logistics for the Narrow Water Bridge prefabricated steel sections from Aelterman’s Ghent workshop (Belgium) to the site on Carlingford Lough […]

Two Councils Have Spoken. Now Their Local Development Plans Need to Say the Same Thing Portaferry and Strangford sit 0.6 nautical miles apart, separated by the Narrows and by an accident of local government history. Since 1 April 2015, Portaferry has been the responsibility of Ards and North Down Borough Council, and Strangford has been […]

The Case for Resilience: Why the Ards Peninsula Cannot Afford to Rely on One Crossing Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) Campaign — for the latest evidence and updates, visit www.strangfordloughcrossing.org Michael O’Leary built Ryanair on one uncomfortable question: what happens when your only aircraft is grounded? You do not run an airline, or a country, on […]

The Inner Partition: What a Lough Without a Bridge Really Costs For years, this campaign has set out the case for a permanent crossing at Strangford Lough in terms of journey times, subsidy costs and traffic data. All of that evidence stands. But it’s worth naming, plainly, what the absence of a crossing actually does […]

Click on image above for direct access to Extension Calculator Knowing the Extension Cost Before You Call an Architect or Builder ExtendIQ gives homeowners and local builders a realistic starting point — before the first conversation happens. One of the most common frustrations in residential construction is the gap between expectation and reality. A homeowner […]

Strangford Lough Crossing — Interactive Feasibility Dashboard For the attention of: the Minister for Infrastructure, MPs, MLAs and councillors with a constituency interest in the Ards Peninsula, Lecale and Strangford Lough. Sixty years after the 1961–64 Stormont bridge proposal, and thirteen years after the Department’s last internal review, the case for a fixed crossing at […]

NI Planning Performance 2025/26 — A Practical Guide for ArchitectsRanked by processing speed, approval rates and major application throughput. All 11 council areas covered. Data: DfI/NISRA Q3 2025/26. By QUINTIN QS 1 Introduction Planning permission is the first constraint on every project. Before a design is agreed, before a contractor is appointed, before a foundation […]

Northern Ireland’s infrastructure record speaks for itself: schemes routinely run late and over budget, and the usual response is tighter cost control. That response misses the point. Standard Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) appraisals, while rigorous, do not capture what a delayed hospital, a stalled data centre corridor, or an unbuilt water treatment works actually costs the […]

Northern Ireland in Solution Mode: What If the Executive Is No Longer “Too Big to Fail”? Northern Ireland does not simply have an infrastructure problem. It has a growing problem of financial credibility, fragmented responsibility and confidence in the Executive’s ability to take difficult decisions and deliver them. For four consecutive years, exceptional Treasury support […]

Compiled from Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Northern Ireland Planning Statistics, 2016/17–2024/25. Published 15 July 2026. Every three months, the Department for Infrastructure quietly publishes a set of numbers that shape whether homes get built, whether businesses can expand, and how long ordinary people wait to hear back on an extension or a new build. Pulled […]

No Minister, No Business Case, No Rulebook: What DfI’s Own Paperwork Just Told Us Regular readers will know we’ve made the economic case for an independent feasibility study more times than we can count. This time, we’re not arguing about money. We’re pointing at the Department’s own filing cabinet. A Freedom of Information response landed […]

Cutting Casement to 15–20k Capacity: Why It Sounds Sensible — But Probably Isn’t UPDATED – July 2026 (original post 27 February 2026) UPDATE – 4 July 2026: The Seats-for-Terracing Swap – Regional in Name Only? An update to yesterday’s post: “Cutting Casement to 15–20k Capacity: Why It Sounds Sensible — But Probably Isn’t” (updated 3 […]

Procura — Coming Soon Tendering is broken. Not dramatically. Just quietly, expensively, and every single day. A builder phones three groundworks firms. One doesn’t answer. One sends a price on a Post-it. One emails a figure with no breakdown and the word “circa” in front of it. The builder picks the middle one and hopes […]

Public Infrastructure Delay in the British Isles — What the Data Tells Us Across the British Isles, public infrastructure projects are not just running late — they are running late at enormous and measurable cost to the public. From Northern Ireland, to the comparator, New South Wales, the pattern is consistent: political uncertainty, procurement failures, […]

Shetland Digs In. Strangford Still Waits for a Study. How a £1.5 billion island tunnel programme exposes the £250,000 question Stormont will not answer Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign  |  www.strangfordloughcrossing.org On Tuesday 30 June 2026, Shetland Islands Council was expected to back a draft strategy for one of the most ambitious fixed-link programmes in these […]

CPD — Continued Prolonged Delays Update Report: 30 June 2026 Eight Weeks On — What Has Changed Published: 30 June 2026 | Previous report: 5 May 2026 | Author: Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS | Category: Latest News The CPD register is a live document. Since the May 2026 launch post, the dashboards have been updated […]

BURNHAM’S “PLACE-FIRST” AND THE POSTCODE THAT POLITICS FORGOT Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | www.strangfordloughcrossing.org | 29 June 2026 Andy Burnham delivered his leadership vision today at the People’s History Museum in Manchester — a venue chosen, by his own account, as a home of democracy and people-powered change. Speaking following his by-election victory in Makerfield […]

Lord O’Neill of Gatley — Why He Favours Construction Build Lord Jim O’Neill (Terence James O’Neill, Baron O’Neill of Gatley, born 17 March 1957) is an English economist, former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and former Conservative government minister, serving as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury in the Second Cameron Ministry from May 2015 […]

More homes are being lost than built — and Northern Ireland cannot even measure the problem The claim that the UK is losing homes to other uses faster than it builds them is not a campaigning slogan. It is an arithmetical consequence of published government data. The evidence below makes the case in two parts: […]

Click on image above for CPD dashboards £43 Billion in Stranded Value: What the CPD Register Tells an Incoming Prime Minister Kevin Barry MRICS | QuintinQS | June 2026 When former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill told Sky News in June 2026 that the United Kingdom needs an “infrastructure version of the OBR” — an […]

Kircubbin Pier: A Village Waiting for Its Moment Published: Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | www.strangfordloughcrossing.org Look at the photographs above. The first photo shows Kircubbin pier today. Beautiful in its own right, set against the extraordinary backdrop of Strangford Lough, with the Mournes visible on the horizon on a clear day — but undeniably quiet, […]

Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC): Everything You Need to Know By Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS, QUINTIN QS — June 2026 If you have heard the words “Strangford Lough Crossing” and want to understand what it is, where it stands, and why it matters — this is the place to start. Everything here is sourced. Every figure […]

Introducing the Strangford Lough Crossing Public Debate A new public forum for open questions, evidenced answers, and a fair hearing for the case for a fixed crossing of Strangford Lough. Click on image above for access to forum. By Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS, QUINTIN QS — 11 June 2026 For the past two years I […]

Click on image above for Feasibility Dashboard Update: 8th June 2026 – Ferry re-classification – a quiet change and what it may mean Now mentioning something which the Department for Infrastructure did, quietly, in October 2023: it moved responsibility for the Strangford Lough Ferry out of the part of the Department that looks after roads, […]

An AI generated look into the future ! The Ards Peninsula: A Case File On Managed Decline For over sixty years the Strangford Lough question has been framed the same way: can we justify a fixed crossing? The wrong question. The correct question : What is the running cost of doing nothing, and who is […]

Portavogie Harbour A Portavogie Parent’s Question: How Does Our Child Get a Good Education — and Come Home to Build Something? Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS — strangfordloughcrossing.org In an earlier piece this week I argued that the case for a Strangford Lough crossing is, at heart, a case about option value — the value of keeping doors open for […]

Strangford Lough Crossing: Keeping Our Options Open When we talk about a bridge or tunnel across Strangford Lough, most people understandably ask one question first: “Will enough people use it?”. That matters – but it isn’t the whole story. Big, long‑lived projects like this are also about something simpler and more human: keeping our options […]

STRANGFORD LOUGH CROSSING CAMPAIGN From the Front Pages of Today to the Front Pages of 2032 The Ards Chronicle placed the campaign on its front page on 12 March 2026. Six years from now, three of Northern Ireland’s leading newspapers could carry a very different story — if the Department for Infrastructure acts now. Kevin […]

Paying for Nothing — Every Single Year Position Paper | Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | June 2026 The public funds a ferry subsidy of £2.09 million a year. It creates no asset, serves a capped timetable, and is used to argue against the crossing that would replace it. This has to stop. Key figures On […]

Three Lough Ferries — What Population Does to Viability, and What That Means for Any Future Crossing Published: May 2026 | Author: Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS | Category: Latest News Northern Ireland is served by three lough ferry crossings: Strangford Lough, Carlingford Lough, and Lough Foyle. All three operate under broadly similar conditions — short sea crossings linking communities on […]

Know Your Costs Before You Commission Your Architect: Introducing ExtendIQ A professional-grade house extension cost calculator, built on 2026 UK market data, now available free to try — giving homeowners across the United Kingdom an informed foundation before a single drawing is produced. Quintin QS·Published May 2026·For all UK clients One of the most common […]

The Monopoly the Market Never Got to Judge A subsidised ferry service. A refused feasibility study. And a question no one in government will answer. Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS | Campaign Lead | May 2026 There is a simple commercial test that any independent-minded analyst would apply to a publicly funded operation: is the taxpayer […]

What the Strangford Lough Crossing Traffic and Diversion Heatmap Shows A plain-language guide for the general public and elected representatives The heatmap is an interactive map of the roads around Strangford Lough. Each road is coloured by how many vehicles use it every day, measured in Vehicles Per Day (VPD), also known as the Annual […]

Click on image above for SLC heatmap See the Traffic Story: Our New Interactive Heatmap Explained By Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS, Quintin QS Source: Quintin QS TAG Appraisal, March 2026 Introduction We have published an interactive traffic heatmap for the proposed Strangford Lough Crossing. It is a visual tool built directly on Department for Infrastructure […]

Rebutting the “No Need” Argument The officials’ position rests on six distinct claims. Each is materially flawed — and the flaws are not marginal; they are structural. 1. “The ferry meets current demand” This is circular reasoning, and it is recognised as such in transport economics. The ferry does not meet demand — it caps it. When […]

Click on image above to open SLC – Feasibility Dashboard (Interactive) Blog post and dashboard updated Monday 18th May 2026 Sixty Years of “Not Viable” — and the Dashboard That Asks Whether That’s Still True Why this post, why now For three months the Strangford Lough Crossing campaign has been making one argument, in plain […]

When “No Immediate Need” Becomes a Hidden Stop Sign People keep asking a simple question:If a Strangford bridge would clearly help local people, improve safety, cut emissions and boost the economy, why won’t the Department for Infrastructure even do a proper study? The short answer is uncomfortable: DfI is using the phrase “no immediate transport […]

TITLE: Minister Kimmins Is Coming to Strangford. Here Are the Answers to Her Questions. Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | 12 May 2026 Minister for Infrastructure Liz Kimmins MLA confirmed in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday 11 May 2026 that she has agreed to visit Strangford this week, at the invitation of a local elected […]

They Called It False Hope. We Call It a Fair Question. This is one of the most consequential analytical challenges in the entire campaign. The following discussion sets out, with full source attribution, why the DfI position is analytically unsound and institutionally self-defeating. Whatever the next move, the truth shall be highlighted and the honest […]

“Why Not?” — The Two Words That Could Change Everything Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign Blog | 9 May 2026 Three months ago, in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins MLA was asked about the prospect of a fixed crossing between Portaferry and Strangford. Her response, recorded verbatim in the Official Report of the […]

The British Isles Infrastructure Bill: What Was Promised, What It Costs Now, and Why the Clock Never Stops CPD — Continued Prolonged Delays Moilleadh Leanúnach Fada Published: 5 May 2026 | Updated: 6 May 2026 | Author: Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS | Category: Latest News The Name Was Already Taken — And That Is the […]

One of the first questions I hear from homeowners thinking about a single/double storey extension is: “What is it likely to cost?” It is a perfectly reasonable thing to want to know before you speak to an architect, approach a builder, or make any kind of commitment. To help with exactly that, I have built […]

May Day, St Joseph – and the Right to Work Here On May Day, the world remembers ordinary workers who fought for fair hours, safe conditions and decent pay. In every generation, the message is the same: work is not just an income; it is about dignity, purpose and the chance to build a life […]

Would the Strangford Lough Crossing Face Regular Closures? Short answer: No — and we now have a working Irish bridge that proves it. Start With the Wind Itself People imagine that a bridge over Strangford Narrows would be battered by wind from every direction, all year round. The reality is more reassuring once you understand […]

To the Detractors: A Bridge Would Not Hollow Out the Villages — It Would Give People More Freedom to Choose Them Introduction Opponents of a Strangford Lough Crossing often repeat the same warning: build a bridge, bypass the villages, and Strangford and Portaferry will lose trade. It sounds plausible on the surface, but it rests […]

Does DfI Apply Its Own Rules Consistently? The Department for Infrastructure uses a standard five-part framework — the DoF Better Business Cases methodology — to assess every significant transport proposal it considers. It is the same framework that underpins the A5 Western Transport Corridor, Northern Ireland’s largest active roads project. We applied that same framework […]

WHY NOT? THE MINISTER ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTION. NOW WE NEED THE ANSWER IN WRITING. On 3 February 2026, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins MLA stood in the Northern Ireland Assembly and, in the course of an Adjournment Debate on the A20 Portaferry Road, said the following about a permanent crossing over Strangford Lough: “If there […]

Stormont is overspending on day‑to‑day services it can’t afford, underspending on the investment money it does have, and overrunning by billions on the projects it actually delivers. That single sentence captures why Northern Ireland’s public finances feel broken – and why “more money from London” on its own will never fix the problem. The detail…. […]

Strangford Lough Crossing: a practical climate and cost solution for everyone For too long, the debate about Strangford Lough Crossing has been trapped in politics. That is a mistake. This is not just a transport question; it is a resilience question, a climate question, and a value-for-money question. The strongest case for a fixed crossing […]

The NI/UK Five Case Model business case process, where the strategic need, broad options, and initial value-for-money case are set out From a layperson view, the Northern Ireland Executive usually treats a requested scheme as a proposal to be tested, not a promise to be built. In the context of SLC www.strangfordloughcrossing.org, SOC stands for Strategic Outline Case.It […]

What Would a Proper Business Case for the Strangford Lough Crossing Actually Show? There is a question that keeps being asked in response to this campaign, often by people who mean well. It goes something like this: “But surely the numbers just do not stack up for a bridge over Strangford Lough?” It is a […]

Where www.strangfordloughcrossing.org Stands in the Formal NI Infrastructure Appraisal Process If Northern Ireland part of the UK, there is a need for strategic infrastructure since the GFA. Ordinary people have seen no such investment to date. The DoF Better Business Cases NI Five Case Model follows a defined sequential gateway process. Each stage requires ministerial […]

“Evidence is not ‘Nonsense’ A comment appeared online this week dismissing the suggestion that young families are leaving the Ards Peninsula because of the cost and inconvenience of the ferry, and that falling school enrolments are a consequence. The word used was: “Nonsense.” I said I would prove it. Here is the proof. Every figure […]

Have been asked to create images of SLC to indicate where located and preferably, a day and night image. Day time view of SLC at The Narrows, from centre of Portaferry Night time view of SLC at The Narrows, from centre of Portaferry

Ards Peninsula: The Cost of Standing Still (2026–2036) Why this is no longer just a transport issue — but an economic and school survival issue Executive summary (read this first) Over the next 10 years, doing nothing on connectivity will cost the Ards Peninsula £1.0bn–£2.15bn — and could trigger the loss or weakening of up […]

STRANGFORD LOUGH CROSSING CAMPAIGN Campaign Update — 14 April 2026 Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Portaferry www.strangfordloughcrossing.org | mail@kevinbarryqs.com THE BI-COUNCIL MANDATE IS NOW COMPLETE Both councils have spoken. The ball is firmly in the Minister’s court. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has now passed a formal resolution calling for an independent […]

Northern Ireland’s Productivity Gap: Why Connectivity Projects Matter for Ministers and MLAs Northern Ireland has a productivity problem – and it is the Executive’s problem to solve. For more than two decades, key measures of output per hour worked have sat consistently below the UK average, meaning that every hour worked here generates less real […]

Strangford Lough Low Carbon Corridor Why the case comes first on climate and resilience For decades, the idea of a fixed crossing over Strangford Lough has remained a long-running proposal rather than a delivered project. That position is no longer sustainable. With storm damage on the A20, mounting climate pressure and legally binding net-zero duties, […]

Subject: Newry, Mourne & Down District Councillors – Strangford Lough Crossing – Seeking Your Support Ahead of Upcoming Debate (Direct email sent to each and every Newry Councillor) Dear Councillor, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing ahead of the upcoming debate on the proposed Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) to respectfully seek […]

The Road Where People Die While Money Disappears Since 2006, at least 57 people have been killed on the A5, with more than 1,200 people injured in crashes along its 58‑mile length. BBC analysis shows that, between 2012 and 2024, the A5 had the highest death rate per kilometre of any major road in Northern […]

When the Evidence Comes to You: What a New Climate Report Means for the Strangford Lough Crossing 1 April 2026 There are moments in any long campaign when the external world catches up with arguments you have been making quietly for years. This is one of those moments. Our climate knows no borders. On 1 […]

Music entitled ‘Why not?’ War, Oil and a Ferry: Why a Constrained Budget Makes the Case for a Strangford Crossing Stronger, Not Weaker. . Ards and North Down has said yes. Newry, Mourne and Down is next. The Department for Infrastructure has still not commissioned a single independent study. “If they don’t find a way […]

Why the Strangford Lough Crossing Is Now a Matter of Public Resilience After sixty years of proposals, rejections and inaction, the case for a permanent fixed crossing at Strangford has never been stronger — or more urgent. Most of the public conversation about the Strangford Lough Crossing has focused on economics, healthcare access, and community […]

England’s New Road Plan: What It Means For Northern Ireland (Status: Neutral–Slightly Positive) What RIS3 Is – And Why NI Should Care The UK Government’s Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) sets out over £27 billion of spending on England’s motorways and major A‑roads from 2026–2031. It does not fund roads in Northern Ireland (those are […]

Northern Ireland’s planning system is widely viewed as underperforming, with statutory consultees a major pinch‑point, but delays and “crisis” symptoms arise from several interacting structural and cultural problems rather than one villain. 1. What “crisis” looks like Key symptoms repeatedly flagged in formal reviews and political debate include: That “crisis” narrative is reinforced by the […]

Northern Ireland has spent more than a century shovelling public money into “saving” individual industrial names – from shipyards to shiny new tech funds – while leaving some of its most hard‑pressed communities stuck with 19th‑century connectivity. The Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) offers a completely different kind of investment: not another bailout, but a piece […]

Sixty-Six Years of Excuses: A Letter to Those Who Had Their Chance For sixty-six years, every proposal for a permanent crossing at Strangford Lough has met the same answer: too costly, no demand, not now. Twelve schemes. Twelve rejections. The reasons shifted with each decade. The conclusion never did. The record is now documented. Freedom […]

The unique selling point of the Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) is that it is not just “a bridge”, but Europe’s first climate‑positive heritage crossing: a fixed link in one of the most protected marine landscapes in Europe whose very permission is tied to cutting carbon, restoring nature and helping coastal communities to thrive again – […]

Strangford Lough Crossing: Comparing All Five Options An independent assessment of the crossing options — and what the evidence says The debate around a permanent crossing of Strangford Lough is often reduced to a single question: bridge or no bridge? In reality, five distinct options exist. Each has been assessed on capital cost, journey time, […]

A succesful and important meeting with Chris Hazzard MP. Next steps ! Updated: Last Friday, 13 March 2026, the campaign met with Chris Hazzard MP, Member of Parliament for South Down, to present the case for an independent feasibility study into the Strangford Lough Crossing. We are grateful to Chris for agreeing to give us […]

STRANGFORD LOUGH CROSSING Strangford Lough Crossing is a proposed bridge between Strangford and Portaferry that would replace the ferry with a safe, 24/7 link for cars, commercial vehicles, farming vehicles, walkers and cyclists. Today many people face a 90‑minute, 75 km detour when the ferry is off, full, or shut at night; the bridge would […]

Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign — Status Summary, 12 March 2026 The campaign enters tomorrow’s meeting with Chris Hazzard MP having achieved meaningful but fragile progress. Minister Kimmins’ statement of 3 February 2026 (Hansard, Vol. 188, No. 2) — “why not? I am happy to keep that under review” — represents the most significant ministerial shift […]

Plan B for Strangford Lough Crossing – Why This Time Can Be Different For most people around Strangford Lough, talk of a bridge or tunnel has become a bad joke. It has been discussed since the 1950s and yet nothing has ever appeared. All talk, no delivery. This “Plan B” is about showing why this […]

“If we are serious about reducing real‑world costs for families on both sides of the Lough, the honest choice is to stop paying for the same fuel‑sensitive ferry again and again—and start owning a bridge that can pay for itself” A fuel‑hungry ferry gets more expensive every time oil and operating costs spike, while a […]

The Man Who Would Not Accept No for an Answer James McMullan said it plainly in 1999: “The ferry is only a stop-gap service — a bridge is the answer.” He was a former Ards Borough Councillor, speaking to the Belfast Telegraph after yet another attempt to privatise the loss-making ferry had collapsed. He cited […]

The Narrow Water Bridge project, spanning Carlingford Lough (also known as Newry River estuary) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, is located in a sensitive estuarine and coastal environment. This area includes designated conservation sites, migratory species, and protected habitats, leading to rigorous environmental assessments and strict mitigation requirements during planning and construction. […]

Casement Park Cutting Casement to 15–20k capacity: Why It Sounds Sensible — But Probably Isn’t ‘Let’s strip this right back’. ‘Cut the size to matching funding pot available !’ People hear:“Make it smaller and we’ll save money.” On the surface, that sounds logical. Fewer seats = cheaper build.But stadium economics don’t work like a garden […]

Strangford Lough Crossing — Practical Community Outcomes: 25 Towns and Villages The report covers communities across both Local Government Districts in the following geographic groupings: Immediate crossing communities: Portaferry and Strangford — with detailed reference to the 848 cancelled sailings recorded in the Ards and North Down Borough Council Annual Report 2024/25 and the 34% […]

Strangford Lough: Healing a Damaged Balance Between Land, Sea and Communities Strangford Lough has some of the strongest environmental protections in Europe – MCZ, SAC, SPA, Ramsar, ASSI, AONB, Geopark – yet the story on its shores is one of communities and landscapes slowly weakened in the name of “progress”. Environmental law has saved the […]

A bridge of hope in a new era Across the world, leaders are talking about a turning point—a moment when old certainties are fading and free societies must renew their foundations if they want to stay secure, prosperous and confident. For us around Strangford Lough, those foundations are not abstract: they are the roads our […]

Pathways to the Future: When Institutions Must Adapt or Communities Pay the Price Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign www.strangfordloughcrossing.org A recent article in The Irish News featured Fr Eugene O’Hagan, one of the celebrated singing trio The Priests, reflecting on the future of parish life in the Down and Connor Diocese. His observations, candid and unvarnished, […]

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy bridge, New Ross, County Wexford , Ireland, opened 2020. New Ross bridge build cost is £106M in 2026 prices, which, if base cost for SLC + Narrows site specifics + approach roads/car parking + Professional Fees, say, £300M + forms the cost figure being reported at present across the spectrum of SLC/ […]

The New Green Book: Does the Strangford Lough Crossing Actually Stack Up? Yes — the updated Green Book under Rachel Reeves reflects material changes in Treasury appraisal practice, especially around: However, it’s a reform of guidance and framework rather than a change in statute. The core institutional role of the Green Book — to guide […]

THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE FACING GAELIC GAMES ON THE ARDS PENINSULA A Wake-Up Call for Our Community The GAA has issued a stark warning in its January 2026 report “No One Shouted Stop—Until Now,” and the implications for the Ards Peninsula deserve serious attention from everyone who cares about Gaelic games in our area. For decades, […]

NI Executive Cycle of fiscal dysfunction – The Ultimate Explanation: Political Cowardice Dressed as Confidence Why did Minister O’Dowd proceed with Reval 2026 figures despite knowing the process was flawed, and then claim “full confidence” after pausing it? Because he is attempting to: This requires: It is simultaneously: The “full confidence” statement is the keystone […]

Action Plan: Comprehensive Fiscal Reform for Northern Ireland Unfortunately, under the current arrangements, local elections before May 2027. Time for strategic delivery. Immediate Actions (Months 1-3) 1. Establish Fiscal Credibility Freeze all new spending commitments Implement emergency Budget correction Install real-time budget monitoring Establish independent Accounting Officer authority 2. Revenue Rationalization Implement Reval 2026 with […]