Narrow Water Bridge - Yes or No

[LeoMc]

Separate story but for want of somewhere else to post it, The Strangford ferry service is losing  about £1.5m annually.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20332535

At €17m for a 660m bridge it would surely make financial sense for DRD to bridge Strangford lough. It would pay for itself in 10-12 years.

[johnneycool]

Separate story but for want of somewhere else to post it, The Strangford ferry service is losing  about £1.5m annually.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20332535

At €17m for a 660m bridge it would surely make financial sense for DRD to bridge Strangford lough. It would pay for itself in 10-12 years.

The talk of a bridge spanning strangford lough has been on the go for years, but no one is prepared to take the initial hit of a bridge in fairly deep water and the infrastructure out to it as the narrowest point is a mile or so out of Portaferry, crossing over not far from Kilclief's pitch.

It's easier to gurn about the £1.5m a year losses than to actually do anything about it.

As for the Ferries themselves, if they'd get the employees to lift all the fares rather than turn a blind eye to some of their buddies and regular users and sort out the new ferry which they bought a few years back but is out of service more often than not.

[Applesisapples]

We own 23 acres between Newry & the Point..........................hell yeah we want the bridge 

It would have been better if you owned 23 acres between Newry and Carlingford, that's where all the traffic will be going.

[All of a Sludden]

Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson has requested an investigation into the decision to grant European funding for the Narrow Water bridge scheme.

Last month, the European Union said it would give 17.4m euros to fund the single-lane cable bridge.

It will run between County Louth and County Down.

The bridge will be 660 metres long and could be open by 2015.

Planning permission has been granted by authorities on both sides of the Irish border.

Mr Robinson said: "We have money available for infrastructure projects and the case was made, very strongly, that these have to be to the infrastructure projects that come out at the top of the list and not what some people were able to choose that weren't even on it."

The DUP leader has also rejected claims by South Down MP Margaret Ritchie that he wanted money funnelled away from North-South infrastructure schemes towards community projects involving former loyalist paramilitaries.

Earlier this week, the former SDLP leader claimed that Mr Robinson wanted money diverted for community projects for loyalists because loyalist paramilitaries were "getting restless".

She told MPs he had complained to the Irish government about the matter.

"As far as the working class Protestant areas go, I do want to see them getting more funding because I do think they are getting a thoroughly bad deal at the present time and I will continue to argue for that, Margaret Ritchie or not," Mr Robinson added

[BennyCake]

I'd say he would approve the building of a 10 foot wall all along the border, to try and keep Norn Iron away from the Republic.

And what's the odds there will conveniently, be some "dissident activity" around the Armagh/Louth border in the near future, so that Robinson and the likes can turn down the building of this bridge, due to security issues. It usually does conveniently rear it's head when needed, to further the Nazi agenda.

[Ulick]

Meaningless soundbites for the backwoodsmen. Robinson can do nothing about the bridge and he knows it.

[lawnseed]

and if the dissies get going right the brits can blow the bridge up..

good chance to finally bring sam over to border into down instead of armagh all they need is a team

[All of a Sludden]

A proposed cross-border car ferry linking Down and Louth could provide a €10m a year boost for the counties, an economic study has predicted.

The service from Greencastle in Northern Ireland across Carlingford Lough to Greenore in the Republic of Ireland would create 24 direct jobs and create and sustain 300 additional jobs in the wider area, according to consultants who conducted an economic impact assessment.

The research was commissioned by the private sector backers behind the project.

The ferry route, which is close to the mouth of the lough, could be operating before the planned Narrow Water bridge is opened further up the waterway.

The Carlingford Ferries consortium behind the project is made up of three families from Limerick and Clare with previous experience in the car ferry industry in the Shannon region.

Complementing the new bridge, the investors believe it would create a circular tourism route between the Mourne region and the Cooley Peninsula.

As well as the economic survey, the developers have also commissioned an environmental impact assessment as well as engaging with local communities.

They hope to submit proposals to the planning authorities both sides of the border early next year with the aim of getting the service running within 12 months.

Paul O'Sullivan of Carlingford Ferries said: "We have several decades of experience in the ferry industry and have been working on this project for almost six years.

"We have already made a significant investment in progressing it to this stage.

"This project would have a major impact on the cross-border tourism potential of the iconic and outstandingly beautiful Mournes-Cooley region.

"It is important to us that we continue to develop this project in an inclusive manner in harmony with the local communities.

"The announcement of funding and planning for a bridge at Narrow Water gives this project renewed vigour.

"Tourists in particular, would have the option to complete a circular 35 mile round trip of the area and local people for the first time could enjoy the novelty of crossing the border at two different points on the water by car.

"We have experience of managing car ferries in other parts of Ireland and we believe that this link between Greencastle and Greenore would be a massive boost for the area.

"We are investing private funding in the project and hope to work through final plans in the coming months and submit planning applications in the first quarter of 2013."

[BennyCake]

I heard the Greencastle folk don't want the ferry service, and have put up signs in the area saying so.

[ziggysego]

A ferry service available to the Greencastles in counties Donegsl and Down. I demand one for us in Co. Tyrone!

[T Fearon]

In my youth,there was a regular ferry service (although confined to foot passengers as no one owned a fecking car when I was young) between Omeath and Warrenpoint.Surely this route would be the optimum one available for a new ferry service across Carlingford Lough

[BennyCake]

In my youth,there was a regular ferry service (although confined to foot passengers as no one owned a fecking car when I was young) between Omeath and Warrenpoint.Surely this route would be the optimum one available for a new ferry service across Carlingford Lough

There was a summer ferry between those said places in recent years. Not 100% if it's still running, but it was a year or two ago.

[armaghniac]

A ferry from Omeath to Warrenpoint wouldn't compete well with a bridge.

The proposed ferry would have the beneficial effect of bringing Kilkeel closer to Dublin!

[red hander]

Yes... If Margaret Ritchie agrees to jump off it while holding one of those big heavy things blacksmiths use

[T Fearon]

Is that after she uses the blacksmith implement on Alisdair Mc Donnell?