Stakeholders in the Narrow Water bridge project will meet with funding body SEUPB to hear why the project failed to make it to the final round of the Interreg IVA funding call. Last week it was revealed that the project which was led by Louth County Council and supported by Newry and Mourne District Council and which hoped to link Warrenpoint with Omeath by way of a multi-million pound bridge had failed to get past the short listing hurdle. It was confirmed that two other local projects – namely Smart Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in addition to Emergency Planning had also failed to meet the short listing. At last Tuesday’s district development meeting (March 20) council director Gerard McGivern confirmed that 13 submissions had been ed from 91 applications to move forward in the process which culminates in December. He added however that the council would continue to work towards the delivery of the project with 2015 the next likely funding opportunity. “We have received an invitation to attend a debriefing session on why the application was unsuccessful,” Mr McGivern said. “Interreg V should now be the target for the bridge.” Among the successful applicants was the £10.4m “Warrenpoint Marina project, the case for which Mr McGivern said would be further developed by Warrenpoint Harbour Authority and the council in the coming weeks. “We will be expected to prove the business case by May,” he said. Successful applications are expected to be confirmed in December with projects delivered by 2015.
Newry Reporter
28th March 2012
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