Reps demand value for money from City Deal Partnership
Council has previously shelled out £15,000 for membership
ANTRIM and Newtownabbey councillors have asked for evidence of what the Belfast City & Region Place Partnership has done for the borough before it agrees a contribution to participate with the body next year.
The Economic Development Committee was reminded on Monday night that the Belfast City and Region Place Partnership (BCRPP), formerly the Renewed Ambition Partnership, is ‘a joint public-private initiative that is delivering a programme of work aimed at ensuring the wider City Region is positively positioned to continue to attract inclusive investment to unlock the development, regeneration and infrastructure required to deliver the City Region’s ambitions’.
A report before the committee said: “The BCRPP comprises public, private and key anchor institution partners within the Belfast City Region. Partners include Belfast City Region Deal Partner Councils, Invest NI, Belfast Harbour, Translink, Housing Association representation, and representatives from the local development community bringing forward significant regeneration and development projects.”
In January 2026, elected reps approved the continued participation in the partnership, while seeking a reduced contribution based on value for money, with the decision to be reviewed in one year.
The report continued: “The committee has considered the merits of remaining in the BCRPP on a number of occasions in recent years, including inviting and receiving a presentation from the chairperson of the partnership in January 2026, and hosting a meeting with the chairperson of the partnership in 2025.
“Alongside value for money, an area of particular focus in the previous engagements between committee members and representatives of the partnership has been the degree of representation of the council and its proposition, particularly on marketing materials such as the exhibition stands used at UKREiiF (the Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) and MIPIM (a four-day real estate and property showcase in Paris).
“The council launched its own investment proposition in Westminster in 2025: Invest Antrim Newtownabbey: AN investment that delivers, and council officers have continued to promote this through the dedicated website, with stakeholders directly and at various events.
“While the council’s new investment proposition has proven successful, as previously reported to committee, it is considered that there is merit in continuing our membership of the BCRPP given its broader geographic representation and combined resources. However, a critical factor that members may wish to consider further is to what extent our participation continues.
“Following the committee meeting in January 2026 officers sought to continue our membership of BCRPP at a reduced rate, however, as a number of partners, including a number of City Region Councils, had already made their financial commitment this option was not deemed possible.
“In 2026 council officers participated in UKREiiF as part of the BCRPP delegation. However, as in 2025, officers did not travel to MIPIM. The previous ambition for BCRPP to also host an event in London/Dublin did not materialise, with a potential event with the Urban Land Institute being postponed.
Councillors were asked to consider a number of options, including to continue to participate in the partnership on a ‘business as usual’ basis with the associated cost of £15k, or engage with the partnership and explore if membership could be continued at a reduced level of expenditure, reflecting a lower level of participation in certain events, but with the council area continuing to be represented in relevant marketing materials and brochures
In previous years the cost of participation in the wider Belfast City & Region Place Partnership has been £15,000 per annum, met through the Economic Development budget and is included in the 2027/28 budget estimates. This fee includes the delegate passes for both UKREiiF and MIPIM, although travel expenses and accommodation are an additional cost, and the council has decided not to travel to MIPIM in 2025 or 2026.
Majella McAllister, Director of Economic Development and Planning gave a brief overview of the past year and asked members for their direction.
Members of the committee expressed disquiet that the London and Dublin events had not happened, and that another event had been put on ice.
Alliance Councillor Billy Webb pointed out that the issue had been discussed three times, including a presentation to the committee from the partnership and a further meeting, with no apparent improvement or visible increase in promotion for the council, and proposed that the issue be delegated to officers to negotiate a reduced rate of membership.
This was supported by UUP Councillor Robert Foster, who said that while the events promised by the partnership had not materialised, the council had delivered its’ own investment showcase in London ‘bringing in the biggest names in the country’.
He also complained that the partnership was not properly promoting the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) in the borough. The centre is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs across Northern Ireland, contribute £1.3bn to the economy and support the training of 300 apprentices by 2050.
Funded through the Belfast Region City Deal, with investment from Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University and a £10 million contribution from council, AMIC, which is based at Global Point in Newtownabbey, provides businesses with access to state-of-the-art facilities, specialist equipment and expert engineering support.
Councillor Foster said that AMIC was the only completed Belfast Region City Deal in Northern Ireland, but that the council’s own corporate team appeared to have done more in terms of promoting the facility than the partnership had.
“They should be coming to us, not us running to them,” he said, calling for AMIC to be promoted ‘across all four corners of the UK’.
DUP Alderman Stephen Ross said that while other City Deals had fallen by the wayside and not reached fruition, AMIC was proving a huge success and deserved to be highlighted more.
The committee chair, Airport DUP Alderman Matthew Magill also queried whether the partnership was offering value for money and agreed that not only should a reduced rate be negotiated, but that BCRPP should provide the council of evidence of what actitivites it had carried out to promote the borough as an investment proposition before any agreement was reached.