11.1. Belfast Port Concept | shannonsuperhighway1

11.1 Belfast Port Concept

Introduction

The Heysham Ferry arrived in Belfast early one spring morning to a spectacular sight.

Tens of thousands of workers were scurrying dock-wards. Most were clad in dark coats, wearing flat caps and carrying sandwich tins. All reminiscent of scurrying figures in Lowry's paintings of MIll Towns.

Lancashire scenes which were quite familiar to me, until the late 1940's.

But the year was 1961.

I was about to enter a visual and political time-warp on my first visit to Belfast!

Much has changed since that distant time.

Perhaps the most critical....our Climate, which is rapidly changing to extreme!

Belfast is now at catastrophic risk from Tidal Surges.

The 5 highest tide surges ever recorded in the City have occurred since 1994.

Sadly, Politicians still treat Climate Change as something that can be ignored for now.

Consequently Northern Ireland's unchanged Tidal Flood Standard of 1:200, compare badly with Netherlands 1:10000

Yet the very same Politicians have been advised by Consultants of a possible half £billion consequential cost of flood damage to the City.

Waste Money, which could be re-directed to the many construction jobs needed to build the Belfast Port Concept illustrated below: