A Stormont inquiry will today hear Belfast Harbour Commissioners deny reports of a "secret" land deal with Harland and Wolff, writes Clare MurphyThe chairman of the Stormont Regional Development Committee acknowledges it has entered "uncharted waters". Mr Alban Maginness, of the SDLP, believes the committee's attempts to examine a land deal in the Belfast docklands represents a new challenge.
The committee today begins an investigation into the lease and development agreement between the Belfast Harbour Commissioners (BHC) and Harland and Wolff Group plc for the Titanic Quarter - 105 acres of prime development land in Belfast Harbour Estate.
The inquiry was sparked by a UTV Insight programme, which claimed there was a "secret" deal between the BHC and the H&W parent company, Olsen Energy. The programme claimed the deal gave Mr Fred Olsen an extension of tenure on valuable lands from 18 to 250 years, without the knowledge of elected representatives.
Last February, Olsen Energy purchased two H&W companies, Harland and Wolff Properties and Titanic Quarter Ltd, the vehicle for development of the site, by effectively writing off £46 million sterling of the shipyard's debt to his company.
It is understood the BHC - an appointed trust - will today reject allegations it was obliged to inform the administration of all details of the deal, which it agreed in principle with H&W in July 2000, with final papers signed last December. The agreement provided for a 50/50 division of costs and revenue from the site between BHC and the company.
A BHC source said its delegation would stress that under the deal, leases would apply only for a completed development constructed by a private development company. The lease would be granted to Titanic Quarter Ltd and almost immediately passed to the developer, with the BHC retaining the freehold.
Meanwhile, on the eve of the inquiry, the Minister of Regional Development, Mr Gregory Campbell, announced the "fast-tracking" of legislation to enhance the accountability of all trust ports in the North.
A specific memorandum of understanding will also be agreed between the BHC and the Department on the disposal or change in use of land on the Belfast Harbour Estate.