Don't plunder H&W site for housing: Empey

The Ulster Unionist peer and former East Belfast MLA was commenting in response to news that the parent company, Fred Olsen Energy, is currently restructuring its business and could potentially put the ‘Yard’ up for sale.

Around 115 people are employed by Harland & Wolff working on marine engineering projects.

The last ship was built on the site in 2003.

Lord Empey said: “As a former enterprise minister and MLA for East Belfast, I have long been concerned about the future of Harland and Wolff and the land on which it sits.

“When there was talk of the company being sold off in the past, the question of the large site became one of interest. It was speculated that the company could occupy a smaller site and the balance could be sold or redeveloped for other uses.

“The H&W site, most of which sits on land leased from Belfast Harbour, is the largest industrial piece of ground in the greater Belfast area. Whether or not a future owner of H&W requires so much land or not, it is important that this land bank is maintained for industrial use so that future generations can have the opportunity to work for companies based in this area.

“What I have always feared is that if H&W was either sold or closed, there would be a ‘plunder’ of the ground by property developers for more apartments or other such quick turnaround uses, leaving no legacy for the city in the future and preventing any meaningful industrial uses and the jobs that could go with it.”

Lord Empey said housing and heavy industry “don’t mix,” and added: “This is an example of another matter that should be receiving attention from a restored Executive and Assembly, and we must not allow the prospect of a short-term, one-off profit to blind us to the long-term consequences of re-designating this land for non-industrial uses.”