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The proposed Northern Ireland to Scotland tunnel - it is now confirmed will not be built

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Mag_seven

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OK folks it looks like we are done here.

If there are any significant developments with this proposal the please alert a member of forum staff and we will look to have the thread reopened.

Also if anyone wishes to speculate on such things as how such a tunnel would be built then they are welcome to start a new thread in the Speculative Ideas section.

Thank You
 
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yorkie

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Plans to build a bridge or tunnel between Northern Ireland and Scotland have been "put to bed", Northern Ireland's infrastructure minister has said.
Nichola Mallon said she was pleased to hear confirmation the plans had been shelved.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been a vocal supporter of the fixed link.
The UK government had commissioned a feasibility study to examine if the infrastructure project was possible.
The Financial Times reported on Monday that the plans, estimated to cost at least £15bn, had been axed due to limits placed on public spending by the Treasury.
Speaking at a meeting of Stormont's infrastructure committee, Ms Mallon said: "I was pleased that we got confirmation that the distraction of a £20bn fixed bridge, or three tunnels and a roundabout under the sea, has finally been put to bed.

As was obvious to all of us, the scheme is not going to happen.

Although this thread remains locked, there is nothing to stop anyone speculating on 'what could have been' in the relevant forum section ;)
 

yorkie

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Here is further confirmation that this will not happen:

Plans to build a bridge or tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland have been ruled out due to forecasted costs and engineering challenges.
A study examining if such a project was possible is expected to advise against proceeding with any proposals when it is released next week.
The BBC understands the government will agree with the report's recommendation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been a vocal supporter of a fixed link between Britain and Northern Ireland.
 

bspahh

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Adam Bienkov from Byline Times did a Freedom of Information request on the cost of the studies into a fixed link to Northern Ireland https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1484200055817048070
The feasibility study into Boris Johnson’s £335 billion bridge to Northern Ireland cost £900,000 to conduct, according to new figures published by DFT. The department previously refused to release this information to me.
It cost £896,680.67 for the study on the £355 billion bridge, and £1,102,525.40 for the Union Connectivity Review.
 
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zwk500

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AJG3

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Just imagine with both, HS2 trains could run London to Belfast via Leeds, Carlisle, Stanraer and Larne! Obviously with comedy routing via the Settle-Carlisle line!
plus a new Solway Viaduct with chords to M&C and GSW to avoid Carlisle, which minus its freight avoiding lines, will be a total bottleneck
 

berneyarms

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Hmm, a saving of £354.9 bn is good value for the study, I'd say.
Given that it was never going to happen in the first place, it’s a very expensive distraction on the part of Boris Johnson, for that is all that it was.

Classic distraction tactics by him and a sop to the DUP to try and keep them onside.
 

zwk500

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Given that it was never going to happen in the first place, it’s a very expensive distraction on the part of Boris Johnson, for that is all that it was.

Classic distraction tactics by him and a sop to the DUP to try and keep them onside.
Oh I agree - I was having a little joke at those who bemoan 'endless studies' in favour of 'just getting on with it'.

I'm not even sure Boris was being that strategic. I think it was just a giant £800k ego trip.
 

Gloster

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At least this time it cost less than a million quid not to have a bridge built. The last time Boris tried it it cost £53 million.
 

37424

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At least this time it cost less than a million quid not to have a bridge built. The last time Boris tried it it cost £53 million.
Hmm but anyone with reasonable intelligence could have said it would be stupidly expensive without having a study, trouble is people with reasonable intelligence seem to be in short supply in Boris Johnson's government.
 

craigybagel

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Hmm but anyone with reasonable intelligence could have said it would be stupidly expensive without having a study, trouble is people with reasonable intelligence seem to be in short supply in Boris Johnson's government.
Anyone with reasonable intelligence wouldn't support the DUP either - but they're the only kind of people who would have been excited about this nonsense in the first place
 

Gareth

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Anyone with reasonable intelligence wouldn't support the DUP either - but they're the only kind of people who would have been excited about this nonsense in the first place

I don't think that's fair, considering the DUP are a product of Northern Ireland's rather complex political situation.
 

102 fan

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Anyone with reasonable intelligence wouldn't support the DUP either - but they're the only kind of people who would have been excited about this nonsense in the first place


Only somebody whose nationality isn't threatened could say that. It's a sad fact that every election here is fought entirely differently. It's not a case of Left & Right, I desperately wish they were. Unionist areas return Unionist members, Nationalist areas return Nationalist members, everything else is secondary.

Many people here vote DUP holding thier nose, knowing full well the parties thoughts, but if the DUP didn't win, then the 'other side' would, with the resultant possibility of a Border poll, with all the disruption that would involve, which in itself brings the possibility of the border going.

I disagree strongly with the DUP position on gay marriage and creation, but do I vote for SF who are for those things but want to deny me my British citizenship? The answer is I hold my nose and vote Unionist, in the hope that public opinion will change the DUP.
 

craigybagel

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I don't think that's fair, considering the DUP are a product of Northern Ireland's rather complex political situation.

Only somebody whose nationality isn't threatened could say that. It's a sad fact that every election here is fought entirely differently. It's not a case of Left & Right, I desperately wish they were. Unionist areas return Unionist members, Nationalist areas return Nationalist members, everything else is secondary.
Bear in mind I was raised in the Republic as the Protestant son of British parents. I'm quite aware of the "complex political situation", and I've often read comments from people in the North that people with my background often had a hard time. One person even suggested we were all ethnically cleansed - I must have been sick and stayed at home that day.....needless to say I actually had rather an idyllic upbringing.
Many people here vote DUP holding thier nose, knowing full well the parties thoughts, but if the DUP didn't win, then the 'other side' would, with the resultant possibility of a Border poll, with all the disruption that would involve, which in itself brings the possibility of the border going.

I disagree strongly with the DUP position on gay marriage and creation, but do I vote for SF who are for those things but want to deny me my British citizenship? The answer is I hold my nose and vote Unionist, in the hope that public opinion will change the DUP.
Ok, perhaps I should apologise and rephrase. I sympathise with the needing to hold your breath when you vote (rest assured it's no better on the mainland, and I've tried voting for all 3 major parties at various times), and obviously given past events there is a genuine fear of the outcomes of a non Unionist in the First Ministers seat.

I also wasn't criticising all Unionist parties, just the DUP in particular - and rest assured I have little time for SF either.

I would also suggest you're naive if you think the DUP are ever likely to change. Real change is only going to happen when they become irrelevant because people aren't voting for them any more. Voting for them gives their neanderthal views a legitimacy they don't deserve.

In this particular scenario, I think Boris was playing up to the fears held by certain people in NI, and using them to his advantage - and I would question the intelligence of anyone, in NI or the rest of the UK, who thinks he really has their best interests at heart.
 
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