Lack of executive may not derail city deal

A Belfast city deal could still go ahead in the absence of an Executive, the BBC understands.

The potential deal for Belfast was announced in Chancellor Philip Hammond's Budget on Wednesday.

Documents published with the Budget stated that negotiations could not begin before power-sharing is restored.

However, a Westminster source said a deal would only need to be signed off by a "decision-making authority" and not necessarily a devolved minister.

Meanwhile, there has been criticism that a similar deal was not announced for Londonderry.

Northern Ireland has been without a devolved administration since January, when the governing parties - the DUP and Sinn Féin - split in a bitter row over a failed green energy scheme.

The Budget book states: "Upon restoration of a Northern Ireland Executive, the government will open negotiations for a city deal for Belfast as part of the government's commitment to work towards a comprehensive and ambitious set of city deals across Northern Ireland to boost investment and productivity."

Lord Mayor of Belfast Nuala McAllister said it would be a 10-year investment plan to improve infrastructure, develop skills and attract more and better jobs.

"This will create a real 'fast-forward' for economic growth here," she said.

"Working closely with businesses, universities and further education sectors, locally-elected representatives across all parties are committed to getting the best deal possible.

"We look forward to negotiating in due course, but it is imperative we see the restoration of a functioning executive in order to land an ambitious, forward-looking package that will boost prosperity and build skills - delivering not only for the city region, but for the whole economy of Northern Ireland."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said his party had campaigned for a city deal for Derry, as well as Belfast, for a number of years, but had not been supported by the DUP or Sinn Féin.

"We don't have any problem with a Belfast city deal, we support it... we want to see a city deal in both Derry and Belfast - but Derry needs it most," Mr Eastwood said.

"Derry is the area that has been left behind decade after decade after decade. All you have to do is look at the employment statistics, and you will see the area that needs proper intervention.

"What we are seeing is a repartitioning of Northern Ireland where all of the economic interventions are being made in the wrong place.

"It is all well and good saying that Belfast will come first, but people in Derry have been hearing that Belfast must come first year after year. You have to understand the frustration people have in this city."

The DUP's Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he believed it was the first in a series of city deals for Northern Ireland and that there would be one for the north west.

"The government made clear they want to see a series of city deals rolled out in Northern Ireland and the Belfast region is obviously the largest urban area in Northern Ireland and therefore the government felt that is the best place to start," he said.

"This was not an initiative by the NI executive, this was an initiative taken by the DUP in our agreement with the Conservative government - we recognised that city deals are something that would be good for Northern Ireland and would want to see rolled out across all of Northern Ireland."

A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said they were in discussions with the executive and the Department for Communities and Local Government in London over a city deal for the city and district.

"The key catalyst projects being proposed as part of the city deal include the expansion of the Ulster University Magee Campus and North West Regional College to 9,400 students, the A2 Buncrana Road economic corridor and major physical and regeneration schemes in both Derry City Centre and Strabane Town Centre," the spokesperson said.