Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council welcomed a delegation from Wales to the area last week as part of its ongoing Growth Deal programme.

The Council and Ambition North Wales have now formalised their ‘critical friend’ relationship as both areas progress their Growth Deal projects.

The two-day visit took in some of our key tourism attractions including the Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle and Bushmills Distillery, along with other potential Growth Deal project locations at Ulster University’s Centre for Drug Discovery and the Enterprise Zone outside Coleraine.

Delegates also came together to exchange ideas, share knowledge and enhance understanding about how to move the Growth Deal forward in the most beneficial way for the Borough.

Welcoming the opportunity, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Ivor Wallace, said: “Our Growth Deal Programme Management Office, with direction from elected members, has been working towards delivering a £72m portfolio of projects after the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to match fund the UK government's growth deal allocation.

“We have established a very beneficial relationship with our colleagues from North Wales, which began last year with an initial visit to Wales to see the impact of growth deal funding there. As a critical friend to our organisation, we will learn from our shared experiences, and this connection will be invaluable as we get closer to finalising our Growth Deal and generating greater prosperity to our area.”

In Causeway Coast and Glens, three key themes have been identified as part of the Growth Deal plans - tourism and regeneration, infrastructure, and digital / innovation.

Ambition North Wales is a partnership between six Local Authorities in North Wales, two Universities (Bangor and Wrexham) and two Further Education institutions (Grŵp Llandrillo Menai and Coleg Cambria). The partnership signed its Growth Deal worth £240m on December 17th 2020 and work is underway to bring thousands of jobs to the region, and give the North Wales economy a multi-billion pound boost. For further information go to ambitionnorth.wales