Northern Ireland

GAA hold exhibitions as part of Casement Park consultation

The initial plans for the redevelopment of Casement Park in west Belfast
The initial plans for the redevelopment of Casement Park in west Belfast The initial plans for the redevelopment of Casement Park in west Belfast

ULSTER GAA is holding a series of exhibitions in west Belfast this week as part of a fresh community consultation on plans to redevelop Casement Park.

The exhibitions will run today at Conway Mill, at Glenn Parent Community Centre tomorrow and Andersonstown Leisure Centre on Thursday.

They are part of a 20-week consultation process ahead of the GAA submitting a new planning application to build the provincial stadium.

The association said additional feedback will also be sought in "late summer/autumn 2016".

Plans to redevelop Casement Park have been plagued with problems and delays in recent years.

A fresh planning bid is expected later this year, nearly two years after approval was overturned after a High Court judge ruled it was unlawful.

Funding for the £77m project is mostly coming from public finances, with around £6m already spent even though construction work has not yet started.

Tom Daly, chairman of the Casement Park project board, yesterday said they were looking forward to engaging with everyone interested in the development.

He said it is an "entirely new process, there are no designs or plans in place and the capacity has not yet been determined".

"We will have experts and key members of our team on hand to answer any questions people may have," he said.

In March the new president of the GAA's Ulster Council Michael Hasson told The Irish News there is "not a lot of give" in previous plans for a 38,000 capacity.

Residents who challenged the initial stadium plans maintain that the site can only cater for up to 25,000 spectators.

However, the GAA later moved to say that the proposed capacity is "not pre-determined".