PM's plan for Irish Sea bridge rubbished by think tank

A bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland is not the route to take to either boost the economy or improve connectivity, experts have warned the Prime Minister.

While Boris Johnson has repeatedly suggested a crossing over the Irish Sea linking Dumfries and Galloway with Ulster, the Fraser of Allander Institute said the idea would not even feature in the top 10 infrastructure priorities.

The economic think tank, based at the University of Strathclyde, was dismissive of the proposal in a scathing blog post.

It comes just over a month after Downing Street confirmed a "range of officials" were looking at the idea - although Scottish Secretary Alister Jack suggested recently a tunnel could be a better option.

The think tank said: "Firstly, those hoping that building a bridge (tunnel or giant catapult even) will automatically be a catalyst for faster economic growth in both Scotland and Northern Ireland will be sorely disappointed."

The economics experts said there was "little international evidence" to back up the idea of a causal positive link between infrastructure and growth, adding: "Build it and they will come is sadly not the case."

While they said "well-designed and targeted investment that helps to unblock barriers to connectivity can have an impact on growth", the post went on to add: "On a list of top 10 infrastructure priorities in Scotland (and the UK), this won't be one of them.

"Much higher priorities concern improving how people move around ourcities."

The post went on to note the proposed bridge or tunnel "won't actually link up centres of economic activity" - saying travellers from Northern Ireland would "arrive in rural Dumfries and Galloway or Argyll, with a 90+ mile drive to the central belt (at least a further two and a half hours)".

The think tank concluded: "So in short, it won't deliver the economic boost some claim, it isn't a priority, it would go to the wrong location, it wouldn't be consistent with climate change objectives and the money could be better spent on other things.

But the Government insists the project is just one of a number of infrastructure schemes under consideration that has the potential to bring widespread benefits.