Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that Crusaders Football Club had previously submitted proposals to relocate their ground from Seaview to a potential new stadium, together with ancillary sports based facilities, at either the Grove Park or the Valley Park Newtownabbey.  The Council had rejected the proposal to use the Grove Park for such a venture.  However, Crusaders’ preference remained a Belfast location and, since the Council’s decision to reject the proposal for Grove Park, they had developed further the Sports Village Concept.

            The Director of Improvement reported that Crusaders had now partnered with Newington Football Club, another North Belfast Club which had major difficulties with its ground, to develop a flagship project which would provide not only tangible benefits for both clubs but address also the major social issues of reconciliation and a shared space in deeply segregated North Belfast.  Whilst the proposal was still at the concept stage, it envisaged locating the Stadium/Sports Village on the North Foreshore.

            The proposed Sports Village complex would comprise a 4,000-6,000 seat stadium with restaurant and corporate function facilities, 70,000 square feet of commercial retail, office and educational facilities which would be aimed at sports?related businesses, a number of training pitches, a soccer dome and a 65-bed hotel, together with car and coach parking space.  The estimated cost of providing the facility was approximately £35 million.  In terms of land the proposal would require a minimum of 25 acres in the South West area of the North Foreshore site. 

            To date, the Crusaders/Newington partnership had received funding from the Strategic Investment Board to consider governance arrangements for the Sports Village model.  In essence a partnership with the Council was envisaged whereby Crusaders/Newington would raise the capital to undertake the scheme and the Council would provide the land.  The Sports Village would create some jobs and would provide a financial return which would be shared by the partnership or put back into the Sports Village.  The value of the Council-owned land would be reflected in a number of ways over and above the jobs and financial return outlined above.  There would be a community approach to the Sports Village which could address a number of the Council’s Corporative Objectives such as Good Relations, place shaping, younger and older people, healthy lifestyles, sport and tourism.  Therefore, the governance of the Sports Village would be separate from the clubs on a “not for profit” but “income generating” basis.

            The Council’s current position in regard to the North Foreshore was based on extensive community consultation at the time of the Big Lottery Bid for Giant’s Park, following which the Council had agreed to utilise approximately 21 acres for an Eco Business Park, 20 acres for Port-related warehousing and 7 acres for a Park and Ride site.  A planning application had been submitted based on the foregoing uses, together with waste and open space use on the remainder of the site.  Although progress had been made in regard to the firming up of the planning issues, there had been more limited progress in terms of identifying resources for its delivery.  Consequently, proposals such as that which had been received from Crusaders/Newington were worthy of consideration if they provided a delivery route for a product which the Council deemed to be in line with its overall objectives.

            Given the changed economic environment, Council officers had already begun to reconsider the detailed components of the overall masterplan for the North Foreshore and the Sports Village concept could be considered in that review.  However, choices inevitably would have to be made as it might not be possible to meet the space requirements of the various interests on the site.  Issues which might arise include the economic viability of one scheme over another, the opportunity cost of using part of the site for a social benefit over a commercial return, and the practicality of undertaking all or individual elements of schemes given the environmental liabilities and technical difficulties of the site.  However, there could be no answers in relation to such questions without further work being undertaken.

            The Crusaders/Newington Partnership had requested the Council’s “in principle” support for the concept.  In addition, they had requested formally that consideration be given to an appropriate legal vehicle for a possible joint venture.  A third key point was that the partnership required the Council to act as sponsor on a Special European Union Programmes Body bid which would be subject to a feasibility study and an economic appraisal and which would require all legal, planning and technical issues to be addressed fully.  Crusaders had intimated that the Strategic Investment Board had indicated that funding support for an economic appraisal and a masterplan revision could be provided.

            Accordingly, it was recommended, given that the North Foreshore masterplan was being revisited due to the changing economic climate, that the agreement in principle to the request submitted by the Crusaders/Newington Partnership be granted and that Council officers be authorised to follow up on the details with the clubs and the Strategic Investment Board.

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.