Other News In Brief

Graham Continues Work On £50m Build-To-Rent Scheme

Work is continuing on a £50 million build-to-rent scheme in Salford.

NI-based contractor Graham has reached the topping out stage of the Erie Basin project, a 220,000 sq ft development which will accommodate 270 new apartments once finished in summer next year.

Acquired from the Peel Group, the site is the last remaining plot to be developed at Erie Basin. In addition to the new homes, the project will include a tenant lounge, gym and private elevated garden terrace.

Graham recently celebrated the topping out milestone with Glenbrook, the privately owned property development and investment company behind the project, funding partner Moorfield Group, Salford Council, architect Sheppard Robson and cost consultant Abacus.

Gary Hughes, Graham's Regional Director (Building), said: "Erie Basin will provide a number of fantastic apartments for those looking to live in Salford Quays and we're proud to have worked closely with Glenbrook to deliver this new landmark for the area.

"Close collaboration between all stakeholders is absolutely key to realising large-scale projects such as these – and taking that collaborative approach has allowed us to deliver this scheme efficiently, while developing our relationships with all involved in the project."

Stuart McCrone, Projects Director at Glenbrook, said: "On schedule to complete in the summer of next year, we are bringing an exceptional product to an already high-quality destination that is improving day by day. The performance of the project team has been exemplary and, once complete, Erie Basin will raise the bar for BTR accommodation in Salford Quays."

Call For Progress On A5 Improvement Scheme

Sinn Féin West Tyrone MP Órfhlaith Begley has appealed for urgent progress on the A5 improvement scheme in light of ever-mounting accidents, deaths and injuries on the road.

She said: "Last week we witnessed heart-rending scenes of further carnage on the A5 with more families plunged into grieving and loss.

"Further tragedy could be avoided if the A5 dual carriageway was allowed to proceed as planned. The vast majority of people in this area want to see the necessary improvements to the A5 happen as quickly as possible and are frustrated by the repeated delays as a result of unrepresentative legal challenges.

"In light of the need for urgent action to progress this work I am seeking an urgent meeting with those challenging this project through the courts and will urge them to find alternative ways to voice their opposition without delaying the necessary improvements to the road.

"On the basis of road safety alone, the A5 Dual Carriageway is both essential and long-overdue."

Pay Award For Health Workers Must Proceed Immediately - Alliance

Alliance Party Health Spokesperson Paula Bradshaw has said that a pay award to nurses and other health workers must proceed immediately, as the failure to deliver it is directly harming service provision to patients.

The South Belfast MLA stated: "In the context of rising inflation and thus a rising cost of living, there can be no dispute that nurses are due the pay award which will bring pay into line with elsewhere in the UK.

"This situation is exacerbated by the fact that lower pay is a false economy, with agencies charging scandalous rates to provide nursing cover. It is plain also that it is grossly unfair for some nurses to be paid considerably less than others for the same job.

"We also need to find a way urgently to cap agency pay as is the case in England."

(CD/CM)