The ‘pausing’ of Causeway Coast and Glens Growth Deal represents a huge missed opportunity to transform the impoverished rural region into an economic powerhouse, the Mayor has warned.

The prospect of a £76m Growth Deal across 9 different projects, with additional partnership investment of around £25m, has the potential to be an economic ‘game changer’ for the Borough, anchored by a world-class Centre for Food and Drug Discovery in Coleraine. In short, the deal provides a once-in-a-generation chance to reverse decades of under-investment, redress regional imbalance and realise the area’s inherent economic growth potential.

Due to a range of economic challenges such an under-developed private sector with few large businesses, a reliance on seasonal and low paid jobs and an aging population, nowhere is the prospect of investment for economic growth more important than in Causeway Coast and Glens.

Since its inception in 2015, the Council has had to work through the twin challenges of a weak business rates base and the high borrowings inherited from four of NI’s poorest legacy councils. These challenges have limited the Council’s ability to make the strategic investments needed to boost the economy and create good jobs which are so desperately needed.

To date, the Council has invested around £1m of ratepayer’s money in getting the proposed Growth Deal projects to the Heads of Term stage, which were signed in April by Caoimhe Archibald Minister for Finance and The Lord Caine, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for NI, in the presence of the First and Deputy First Ministers.

Consequently, it came as a complete shock when the UK Government announced on Friday 13th September 2024, that all Growth and City Deals in NI were “paused”. This also came as a complete shock to the NI Executive, which has now made a united call for this decision to be reversed.

The pause was subsequently removed from the Belfast and Derry & Strabane Deals, leaving only the Causeway Coast & Glens and the Mid South West Deals in a state of uncertainty. Neither Deals have received any formal communications from Treasury, and we continue to rely entirely on third hand information. Yet just five days after the pause announcement, the Derry and Strabane Deal was signed by Hilary Ben MP, where he made public comments about his ambitions for the economic growth of all regions in NI.

Today, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Ciarán McQuillan, Council’s Chief Executive David Jackson and CEO of Causeway Chamber of Commerce, Karen Yates met Executive Ministers at Parliament Buildings to discuss the impact the ‘pausing’ of the Growth Deal would have on the region.

After the meeting, Councillor McQuillan, a qualified economist himself, commented:

“The speedy removal of the pause on the Belfast and Derry & Strabane City Deals, shows that where there is a will in Government to do the right thing, there is equally a way to make it happen.

“We have one of the poorest economic outlooks of all the 11 Councils in the North of Ireland and the proposed £100m Growth Deal investment was the economic lifeline we required.”

The Mayor went on to point out that:

“This pause of the Growth Deal is grossly unjust and completely at odds with the Heads of Terms Agreement that the Government signed just in April. I appreciate that the British Government has difficult decisions to make, but I would question if it is ethical to condemn one of the poorest and most rural regions of the North, to a future as an economic desert?"

Finance Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald reiterated these sentiments when she said:

“I remain unwavering on the need for the Causeway Coast and Glens and Mid South West Growth Deals to be allowed to continue their progress without delay.

“The continuation of this pause risk undermining confidence to get on with delivering these Deals, which had been designed to stimulate growth in local and regional economies.

“Today has demonstrated, once again, the unanimous political support for these Deals. Working together we will continue to champion the case of the immediate reversal of this pause on funding for the Causeway Coast and Glens and Mid South West Growth Deals and their reinstatement so they can get on with delivering the proposed projects.”