Invest NI called to explain 'very worrying figures' as 96% of its land bank in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon borough remains unused

Such was the strength of feeling at a recent meeting of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon council’s Economic Development & Regeneration Committee that a senior delegation from Invest NI will be asked to come along to a subsequent meeting to explain why their track record appears to be so poor.

In Mandeville alone, according to the agenda item circulated at the meeting, 95 acres remain usable out of a total landholding of 97.9 acres.

This is in sharp contrast to other parts of the borough, where most, if not all, of the land zoned for industrial purposes is now used up.

The figures are as follows: 7.4 acres still usable out of 23.9 in Edenaveys, Armagh; 10.45 acres out of 59.5 in Charlestown Road, Craigavon; 22.1 acres out of 63.2 in Halfpenny Valley, Lurgan; 0 acre out of 41.3 in Craigavon Foodpark; 0 acre out of 66.67 in Silverwood, Lurgan.

The relevant agenda item explained the ABC Borough was in a unique position in that most of its available industrial land remains unused.

It stated: “There is evidence of market failure in the provision of industrial land. While much of the land in other towns across NI has been acquired, within the borough 96% remains unused by industry and undeveloped in terms of utilities.

“Only 4% of the Invest NI land bank in the borough has been developed over the last decade.”

Referring to the latter passage, Councillor Paul Duffy (Sinn Féin, Portadown DEA) said: “Just very worrying figures here by Invest NI for only 4% in the last decade. Is Invest NI not advertising our land? What are they doing?

“Is the land not ready for use? Is it a sewage connection or Building Control? What is going on with this land, especially in Craigavon with still 95% of land available?

“[It is] very worrying. You would think they’re not showing the land to anybody for investment.”

Head of Economic Development Services, Nicola Wilson pointed out that large portions of land in Mandeville were not as yet ready for business use, saying: “There are very specific criteria that Invest NI use whenever they are working with their land.

“Now, a lot of that land in Mandeville, in Craigavon, is not serviced for business use, it is green grass, so there’s a lot of work and a lot of investment that Invest NI would have to do to bring services in.

“I know that funding has been a difficulty for them in the past, but they are very focused on the criteria that they have.

“We would get a lot of queries from transport companies, logistics companies who need large swathes of land for their plants, and they are definitely out as far as Invest NI are concerned.

“And there’s quite a lot of businesses that don’t necessarily fall within their remit, so it is very frustrating for them as well.

“One of the recent companies that did get some land off them was in relation to White’s Oats. I believe that they, through the Fane Valley group, got some factory there, but it was a long process.”

Councillor Paul Duffy suggested decisive action: “If they can’t use [the land] – it’s been a decade, probably more – sell it on to somebody that can.”

Councillor Tim McClelland (DUP, Lagan River DEA) remarked the land in Mandeville had been vested many decades ago: “Am I right in saying that that Mandeville land was land that was vested way back by the old Craigavon operation, way back 40, 50, 60 years ago?

“So I suppose that only increases the bad look that there is on this, because that land has been around and available for what literally amounts to multiple decades, and yet nothing seems to have been done about it.

“So, I think it’s a very useful report, a very stark report, and certainly something that leaves huge questions for Invest NI.”

Alderman Stephen Moutray (DUP, Lurgan DEA) felt Invest NI lacked flexibility to be effective as a business development body, and he also blamed what he saw as a disjointed approach within ABC Council: “Growth in our borough is stymied, it’s not encouraged, and that has been the case for this past two decades in relation to Invest NI.

“The land bank that they have currently around Craigavon is very much the same as what they had 20 years ago, and it doesn’t seem to make a bit of difference as to what ministers are in charge and from what party.

“Invest NI do their own thing, they’re too prescriptive, and that’s what makes us different from the United States, from the Republic of Ireland.

“There’s a will to get on and do things and overcome hurdles, but as an organisation we don’t even have a link within our organisation between Planning and Economic Development to drive business on. That’s where we are, and that’s why we are where we are.”

Councillor Peter Lavery (Alliance, Lurgan DEA) sought some clarification: “Did Nicola mention that there had been interest in some of these lands around Mandeville and so on?

“She mentioned logistic companies and things like that, but Invest NI had turned those applications down, or those expressions of interest down.”

The senior council officer replied: “You’re absolutely right, the broader point is that logistical companies are not allowed to use the land. It has to be for manufacturing and tradable services, and within specific sectors, and there are other rules around it as well.

“We know from being contacted by certain companies that they haven’t been able to acquire any of the Invest NI land and would have liked to have done so.”