Former vice chancellor to oversee Coleraine £20m windfall spend

A FORMER Vice Chancellor of Ulster University will oversee spending of Coleraine’s £20m Town Fund payout.

The appointment of Professor Gerry McKenna as chair of the Coleraine Future Town Fund Board was approved by councillors at a behind-closed-doors meeting last month.

The Town Fund was established under the Conservative government’s Levelling Up agenda to address disproportionate attention placed on cities.

In February, Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt added Coleraine to the government’s list of beneficiaries

The nomination was widely viewed as compensation for losing its unique enterprise zone status.

The scheme operates a £20m ‘endowment style’ grant for each selected settlement delivered in £2m annual instalments over a decade.

Following the announcement, Causeway Coast and Glens Council was tasked with providing a ‘secretariat support function’ and told to assemble a board to oversee spending.

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