§ Lord Smith of Cliftonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the progress on the development of a tertiary education campus on the Springvale site in North West Belfast. [HL691]
§ Baroness AmosThe Springvale Project was to be a joint venture between the University of Ulster and the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education, comprising a joint further education/higher education campus, an outreach facility and an applied research centre to promote the economic, social, cultural and educational regeneration of North and West Belfast. The Outreach and Applied Research Centres were to be delivered by conventional procurement means with the joint campus being procured via a private finance initiative project.
The Outreach Facility has been delivered with funding from the Millennium Commission and the 64WA International Fund for Ireland. It has been operational since May 2002.
Difficulties arose in the preparation of the outline business case for the main campus with the University of Ulster declaring the project unaffordable in capital and recurrent terms. The university declared its intention to withdraw from the project, following which further development of the Applied Research Centre was put on hold.
Following the university's withdrawal, the Springvale Board was asked to carry out a review of the project. The review has just been completed and endorsed by the Springvale Board. The report was forwarded to Jane Kennedy, Minister with Responsibility for Employment and Learning, on 13 January 2004. As part of the review process, the Belfast Institute has put forward proposals for a centre, adjacent to the Outreach Centre, that will focus on workforce development and business start-up. The Minister will consider the proposals brought forward in the review and will make a statement in due course.