“Fingers, toes and everything else crossed!”

With much pomp and ceremony, the National Development Plan (NDP) was unveiled last Friday. Launched in Sligo, after an out of town cabinet meeting, in front of the usual media suspects. Leo’s future plans for the Island of Ireland, would be the defining document of his first term in office, his Guggenheim.

It certainly is a meaty document, running to over 100 pages. Available to download from official and unofficial sources. I managed to download my copy from www.per.gov.ie and a quick scan through all 109 pages, had me thinking “Just what’s in there for Waterford?”

Social media, national and local press, captured the main headlines surrounding Waterford’s biggest game changer in years. The North Quays’ regeneration, our Renaissance. The demolition of all the derelict buildings is nearly complete and our circa €60,000,000 would be there, in bold, in black and white, headlining a page inside the NDP encyclopaedia.

Having furiously searched my downloaded PDF, I eventually found the reference to our first ever Strategic Development Zone. Low and behold there it was, buried in the bottom right hand corner of page 36. No wee emojis of clapping hands or smiling faces. Just one bullet point mentioning “The Waterford North Quays SDZ regeneration project”.

 

In truth, I was all excited. Surely it was not too much to expect to see in print, reference to the sixty million we have been waiting for, far, far too long now? Alas, there was no mention of this money. So I back tracked and read the paragraph that preceded the bullet points.

The money Waterford needs so desperately, would be part of a “New Regeneration and Development Fund Initiative”. There it was as clear as day. “There are a number of examples of urban redevelopment projects that are already in train and that have the potential to benefit from the new Fund, for example:....”

“Potential to benefit” are the very words that jump out at you. Clearly implying that Waterford has an opportunity to profit from this Fund. It does not categorically state that Waterford will get its justifiable millions.

It looks like there are a few more hoops and rings to jump through. There will no doubt be all manner of checks and balances to take place, before taxpayers’ money is spent. Now, that’s a very good thing. Government must ensure that projects are worthwhile, justifiable and will show a significant return on investment. Confirmation before Pascal is allowed to loosen his purse strings. Due diligence has to take place, to guarantee the Irish public are getting value for money.

I have to confess that along with many others, I thought that the NDP was now merely a formality, before the BIG announcement. I was sure that we had already crossed and dotted far too many t’s and i’s. Alas, it now appears that we will have to wait a wee bit longer before this project reaches the finishing line. Others are also suggesting that more has to be done, before the starting gun is fired and the builders move in.

We have been told that the private investment, to support the North Quays is upwards of €300,000,000. That, on anyone’s abacus, gives a massive economic impact, for a relatively small Government outlay. With this in mind, you can’t help but wonder why the NDP was not more committed in supporting Waterford’s SDZ?

I do hope that it is only a matter of weeks and NOT months, before the announcement of funding is orchestrated. When this day does arrive, I wonder just how many will be claiming the credit?

Reading more of the NDP, it is difficult to comprehend why Waterford features so infrequently. The very City that has been earmarked to double its population, gets significantly fewer mentions than many others. In fact, outside of the North Quays, the Technological University carrot or stick and some possible airport funding, there’s not a great deal to shout about. You have to wonder just what was Waterford Inc’s, input into this book of “Ifs, buts and maybes”.

Maybe I am getting sceptical in my old age? Or maybe, just maybe, my pragmatic Scottish genes, dislike circumvention.

“God’s Golden Acre”

I try to get to at least one “Six Nations” rugby match each year. It’s an excuse to catch up with old friends, have a few beers, sample one or two new malts, enjoy some great rugby and reminisce about the old times, when we all lived in London.

This year, I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Scotland v France match, which was of course played at Murrayfield. A ground which my Father referred to as “God’s Golden Acre”.  

A visit to the home of Scottish rugby is in fact much more than a sporting occasion for me. My Father’s ashes were spread on the try line, under the goal post, at the “Old clock” terrace end of the ground. A spot where my Father introduced me to the hard men in blue. They would quite literally, put their bodies on the line, for the honour of representing their beloved “Bonnie Scotland”.

When I was running the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, I met and subsequently worked with, Murrayfield’s Head Groundsman Bill Elwood, a hard rugby man of Ulster. Because I use my middle name and not my first name David, Bill hadn’t realised that I might just be related to a good rugby pal of his, my Father, David Garland.

Bill Elwood first met my Father, at the newly built Glenrothes High School, in the 1960’s. My Father had been appointed Head of PE there. Bill laid the rugby and football pitches. Used by my Father, to teach hundreds of Scottish school children the joys of physical activity. He was an inclusive teacher and no matter your physical abilities, my Father always found a place for you in an appropriate team. He didn’t like pretty boys or prima donnas and wasn’t shy in telling them so!

I happened to be chatting to Bill, at an exhibition, when the penny dropped. Dave, David, DEB Garland, was Michael Garland’s Father. We spoke about my Father’s fight with Motor Neurone Disease and his huge funeral turnout. I cheekily asked Bill if we could spread the Dad’s ashes on the pitch. Bill immediately replied “It would be an honour!”

A date duly arranged, our family met with Bill at Murrayfield. Carrying the container and knowing how protective a Head Groundsman was of their hallowed turf. I asked if we might use an unobtrusive corner. Amazingly we were offered the “Freedom of the pitch”. My Father’s ashes, were spread under the very goal posts, that had been part of my first ever memories of Murrayfield.

I would later find out, that Bill had shut down the whole stadium. Removing all staff members, temporarily closing the corporate boxes and he even turning away the full Scottish rugby squad! They’d turned up for a training session, for their next Five Nations rugby match.

The annual ruby trip throws up all manner of laughs. Last year, at the Wales v Ireland game, in Cardiff, I was surrounded by Welsh and strangely enough lots of French rugby fans. During the anthems I, in true Billy Connolly style, hummed and muttered some very, very poor words of Irish. When I had finished butchering the anthem, a Welsh lady next to me, who I would later discover was in her seventies, said “You’ve a beautiful voice and it’s great that a Scotsman knows all the words to the Irish anthem.” To which I replied “Wait till you hear me singing the Welsh anthem!”

I attended my last French game, with a large group of friends, who oddly enough, all had surnames, beginning with the letter “G”. After the match, we were celebrating this infrequent victory, with far too many alcoholic beverages. The elder statesman of the group was being frog-marched out of this night-club by several bouncers. Taking exception to this, we confronted said bouncers and were ourselves thrown out! Strangely, two simultaneous, anonymous phone calls later – resulted in two Black Marias, three squad cars arriving at the club doors and it was temporarily shut down!!!!!

I was even asked at a Scotland v Ireland match, whilst wearing a certain logo beanie hat, if I was “Mr X”, who was top of that year’s tax evasion list!

The result – yet more wonderful memories.

“Are you counting cranes?”

Last week, Deloitte published their “London Winter Crane Survey”. I heard about this survey on the BBC Breakfast programme, so I had to have a wee look. The interactive website lets you explore in real time, the building works taking place, right here, right now, across London. It’s not surprising to see that the vast amount of construction work, is taking place in the heart of this great City.

The statistics, if you are interested, are simply mind boggling. There are numerous developments upwards of 250,000 square feet and even a few over 1,000,000 square feet! Developments that we here in Waterford can only aspire to. If you use your imagination, you might just be able to see a crane or two, whilst you fantasise!

There are of course, some key headline grabbing findings. The survey states; office construction is down 9% since the previous survey and the last six months have seen the lowest volume of new space started since 2014. This caution is somewhat mitigated, by demolition levels hovering around 8m sq ft, indicating a desire to keep developing. A buoyant rental market, in which 44% of space under construction is already let. There have been above average levels of completions and 2017 is on course to deliver a 13-year high of space.

The outlook for future development looks reasonably optimistic; the demand for new space will remain resilient. The rise of vacancy rates across central London will continue. The continued rise of co-working space is set to impact the market. Brexit will move real estate up the agenda for businesses. This is all very encouraging for the London economy. Well on the surface it does.

Despite all looking, at least on the surface, very rosy - I would hedge any bets. The vast majority of these works, started long before the mess that is Brexit, came to the fore. There would have been a colossal commitment to start developments by a certain date, ensuring rental income would start rolling in. Clearly, London will forever be ahead of the UK’s building game. I have no doubt that wherever you look, you will always see cranes being used for high-rise expansion.

The crane survey, has now been running for around 20 years. I think it’s a great way to measure just how a local economy is performing. There are very nearly 140 projects covered in the “Winter 2017” report. It must be encouraging for the citizens of London, to see such a huge number of construction projects taking place. Over 12,600,000 square feet of building works are on stream.

Crane counting got me thinking. I know that there is presently, one fixed tower crane at University Hospital Waterford (UHW). This is helping to build a new Palliative Care Unit and I occasionally see a mobile crane supporting this green monster. Apart from the main “Cranky Crane”, I can’t see any more in our City. Interestingly, I did see a mobile tower crane in Carrick-on-Suir. This crane, like Waterford’s one, is also being used for a Health Service Executive (HSE) project, for a Primary Care Centre.

There may in the very short term, be more tower and mobile cranes, appearing at other HSE sites and enhancing Waterford’s skyline. I’m sure if this were the case, we would welcome these symbols of growth, to our horizon. To date, I fear cranes are an endangered species. Especially, those which will be used for large private development projects. Office space, retail shopping centres, leisure centres etc to name but a few.

Yes, we are ALL waiting for the North Quay, SDZ, to receive a small, insignificant “Government handout”. This will in turn, stimulate a circa €300,000,000 investment, across two sites in Waterford City. The plans will dictate that more than a few tower cranes will be seen, helping to lay the bricks and mortar. However, strange forces are at work, attempting to de-rail and impede this game-changing project for the region.

This political posturing and further shenanigans being played out, are detrimental to successful development. My fear is, that Ireland’s Oldest City’s skyline may take months, or even years, to sport these symbolic silhouettes, our fair share of tower cranes.