Feasibility study to assess building bridge between NI and Scotland is ‘London trying to undermine devolutuion’

An official feasibility study is to assess the possibility of building a bridge or tunnel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, it has emerged
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The transport expert Sir Peter Hendy was asked by the government to examine connections between the different parts of the UK.

He has said further work should now be undertaken to look at a “fixed link” across the Irish Sea.

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Two engineering professors will assess the potential project.

They will look at the feasibility of such a link, an outline cost and timescale and the associated works needed.

They are Douglas Oakervee, a former chairman of HS2 and Crossrail, and Gordon Masterson, a former vice-president of Jacobs Engineering.

But Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon said this was announced “without consultation” with devolved ministers in NI.

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Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster Ms Mallon said she has made clear that she “wanted to work with the British government to improve connectivity” but it “is very clear this is about London being able to undermine devolution”.

Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Boris Johnson

She added that “the fundamental requirements of infrastructure are not there in Northern Ireland” at the moment to do this.

She further said that “this government can’t be trusted and have proven that time and time again”.

She said any decision of this scale about Northern Ireland “has to be done in partnership with the devolved administration”.

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Plans for some kind of link between Northern Ireland and Scotland go back as far as the 1890s.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) revived the idea in its 2015 general election manifesto and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously described a bridge as a “very interesting idea”.

Some experts have suggested £15bn might be required for the project but others have said that £20bn would be a conservative estimate.

Later a Scottish minister said a UK Government plans for a bridge or tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland are not a priority for ministers in Edinburgh or Belfast.

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Holyrood’s Transport Secretary, Michael Matheson, instead branded the prospect of a fixed crossing between the two nations as “nothing more than a vanity project” for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

He said the Scottish Government already has its own “robust process” for considering future transport infrastructure projects, and he claimed Westminster’s Union Connectivity Review is “a systematic attack on the Scottish Parliament’s powers – a power-grab that fundamentally undermines devolution”.

His comments came after Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy, who is heading the review, said further work is required on the possibility of a “fixed link” across the Irish Sea.

Sir Peter has commissioned two engineering professors to lead a study into the feasibility of a bridge or tunnel between Northern Ireland and Scotland, outlining its cost, timescale and the work involved.

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Mr Johnson has repeatedly spoken about the prospect of a bridge, even though experts have warned the depth of the Irish Sea and the presence of dumped munitions would cause problems.

The scheme could cost a reported £20 billion, although the Prime Minister has previously said it would “only cost about £15 billion”.

But Mr Matheson told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “It’s not a priority for Scotland, nor for Northern Ireland. I’ve just discussed the matter with Nichola Mallon, who is the minister for infrastructure in Northern Ireland last night, and she reiterated the point it is not a priority for Northern Ireland.

“It’s in my interest to have good transport connectivity with other parts of the UK. But it has to be taken forward in a planned, managed basis, recognising the distinctive nature of the decision-making process in Scotland, as it is in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, rather than it being dictated by ministers in London, who are very remote from our communities and don’t understand the nature of those communities.”

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UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps dismissed suggestions of a Westminster “power-grab”.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: “Quite rightly, transport has been an individual matter for the governments in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and that’s fine.

“The only problem is because of that, no-one is really looking at how the different parts of the United Kingdom connect together.

“It’s not a political issue, it’s not about who runs which parts of the United Kingdom, or whether there should be a United Kingdom at all, and obviously I believe there should be a United Kingdom, but either way whether you think there should be or shouldn’t, the important thing is that people are able to get about.”

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