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SEA calls for ILEX to be scrapped

Thursday 17th March 2005

The Socialist Environmental Alliance has called for ILEX to be scrapped.

Socialist Environmental Alliance local election candidate in the Northland ward, Colm Bryce, said yesterday: 'How many more of these fat cats are going to come and go at ratepayers expense?

'So far ILEX has produced nothing, no new jobs, and no new investment. So what was the Council paying him for? And, it's not very long since the ILEX Chairman Alan McClure resigned before completing a year of his term of office.

"The whole ILEX project has been undemocratic and unaccountable from day one. Faceless NIO ministers and civil servants dictated that Ilex was be run by business people. At the time they said that, "Critically", Ilex would have to rely on private sector investment to finance Derry's regeneration. But private business only invests if it can make a profit. And the way to make a profit is to use both sites for more private property, offices and yuppie apartment projects. Yet almost two years on, they haven't been able to produce even a draft plan.

'We demand that the taxpayers who fund this failed enterprise get to see the books. How much has been spent on paying these people? How much taxpayers' money has been wasted trying to entice private business to take over valuable public sites, instead of setting out a plan for much needed public amenities?'

He added: 'It's time the regeneration of Derry City was planned and overseen by democratically elected and accountable local representatives ­ by the City Council.  Let the Councillors do what they were elected to do ­ represent the views of the population of Derry, instead of land grabbing apartment developers, and come up with a plan for these fantastic riverside venues at Fort George and the former Ebrington Barracks site.

'The business community has proved that it cannot undertake the urban regeneration for which ILEX was established. This farce has gone on long enough ­ scrap ILEX and let local people decide on the development strategy.'





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