Referral of the proposed subsidy to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council by Belfast City Council
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-22)

The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has published a report providing advice to Belfast City Council concerning its proposed subsidy to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (MEABC).

Administrative timetable

Final report

22 January 2025: The SAU has published its report providing advice to Belfast City Council concerning the proposed subsidy to MEABC. The report sets out the SAU’s evaluation of Belfast City Council’s Assessment of Compliance of its proposed subsidy with the requirements set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
- Final report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-the-proposed-subsidy-to-mid-and-east-antrim-borough-council-by-belfast-city-council) (22.1.25)
Request from Belfast City Council

6 December 2024: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from Belfast City Council concerning the proposed subsidy to MEABC. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of Belfast City Council’s assessment of whether the subsidy complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.

Information about the subsidy provided by Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council as Accountable Body for the Belfast Region City Deal is proposing to provide a subsidy to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for the i4C Innovation and CleanTech Centre project to support future innovation activity in the Mid and East Antrim area and support regeneration of the Ballymena area.

The subsidy to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is seeking to pursue a policy objective to increase levels of business innovation activity in the Mid and East Antrim area and Northern Ireland and support regeneration of the Ballymena area.

The project aims to regenerate the former military site of St Patrick’s Barracks in Ballymena by establishing the i4C Innovation & CleanTech Centre, a building of up to 7,000m2 comprising:
- the iLAB (innovation lab) facility
- SME incubation labs & workshop
- grade ‘A’ office space
- co-working space, meeting rooms and supporting infrastructure
The estimated total value of the project is £24 million, which comprises of a subsidy of £20.5 million from Belfast City Council and £3.5 million from Mid and East Antrim Borough Council as the project sponsor.

Belfast City Council will be receiving funding for this project from the Department for Economy under the agreed terms of the Belfast Region City Deal signed in December 2021.

Belfast City Council considers that without providing a subsidy, the market alone will not deliver such an NI wide infrastructural asset to meet the policy objective.

The subsidy will be provided to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council over the delivery period of the project (2025 to 2029) and will be conditional on the terms and conditions of a Contract for Funding that will be signed between the Department for Economy and the Accountable Body and a Funding Agreement that will be signed between the Accountable Body and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning the proposed subsidy to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, please send your comments on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit/operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit).

Please send your submissions to the public authority: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with Belfast City Council. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to Belfast City Council together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with Belfast City Council using the email address provided above.

The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.

For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit/operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit).

Contacts
- CMA press team: xx-xxxx-xxxx or xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)