Derry to London Stanstead Air route Announced

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City of Derry Airport

bmi regional to operate two return flights per day between City of Derry Airport and London Stanstead

Derry to London Stanstead Air route: 23/02/2017.  The UK Government has today announced £3.8 million for a Derry to London air route. bmi Regional has been chosen as the preferred operator for the route between City of Derry Airport and London Stansted, following a competitive tender process by Derry City & Strabane District Council.

Flights will begin on 02nd May 2017. The new service will include two return flights each day, except for Saturdays which will have one flight each way. The route, which is a public service obligation, or PSO, has previously only been operated on a daily basis.The new bmi regional service will be twice daily every day except Saturdays (when there will be one flight each way) and timed to compliment business schedules Secretary of State James Brokenshire MP said

“£3.8 million in UK Government funding will allow 13 return flights to connect Londonderry to London every week. The new service will allow business passengers to get to central London and complete a full day’s work before returning home”.

Jochen Schnadt, chief commercial officer of bmi regional, commented:

“The North West region of Ireland is undergoing a sustained period of economic growth, and has received significant investment in new jobs and growth projects over the past 12 months. It is important for businesses that the region is well connected to the UK capital and bmi regional is proud to be bringing its quality, premium product to this route. Whereas previously business travellers between Derry and London have had to stay overnight in the city, they will now be able to commute there and back in a day, saving both money and time, and hopefully resulting in continued economic growth for the Derry region.”

Northern Ireland’s second city, Derry is an economic, creative and cultural hub. In 2013, it was named the UK City of Culture thanks to its winning combination of rich cultural heritage and vibrant social scene. The only completely walled city in Ireland and the UK, it is a bustling, youthful city with great restaurants, bars, museums and more. It is also the gateway to the wider North West and its spectacular coastline, which is regularly used for big film productions including the latest Star Wars franchise and Game of Thrones.

The new route will go on sale 09 March 2017, with fares starting from £44 one way. All bmi regional fares include 23kg of hold luggage, allocated seating, complimentary in-flight drinks and snacks and speedy 30 minute check-ins.

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Launch of Legal Innovation Centre

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Legal Tech

Legal Innovation Centre

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legal Innovation Centre launched at Ulster University. The Legal Innovation centre at Ulster University brings together the law school, school of computing and intelligent systems, and global law firms Allen & Overy and Baker McKenzie. The centre – which have received financial backing from Invest Northern Ireland as well as the two law firms – aims to provide education and training to equip law students and legal professionals “with the tools to navigate the emerging tech-driven legal services market”.

“The Centre will also enable those interested in LawTech, whether legal professionals, law students or others, to study the technological transformation of legal practice, and the implications of this change. In this way it will foster the emergence of legal technologists, ready for the challenges of legal service provision in the information age.

The Centre will be led by three Ulster University academics: Professor Eugene McNamee (Law) Professor Kevin Curran (Computer Science) and Centre Director, Dr Catrina Denvir. The Centre will give students and lawyers the opportunity to familiarise themselves with different types of legal technology software provided by the University’s academic partners, Clio and Caselines. Clio is the world’s leading cloud-based law practice management platform and Caselines is the market-leading service for the preparation of legal bundles and electronic presentation in the court room.

It is also undertaking research for industry clients, the public sector and the academic community, to explore and better understand the impact of legal technology, and developing technological innovations through partnership with stakeholders in order to capitalise on the benefits of tech-enabled practice. There are similar centres already in the US.

The Legal Innovation Centre welcomes opportunities for collaboration, partnership and knowledge-exchange, and looks forward to working with partners to realise the benefits of technology in enhancing the work of the legal services profession and promoting access to justice.

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New £5million state of the art office space in Ebrington can make it an economic hub

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First Minister, the Rt. Hon. Arlene Foster and the deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness today provided details of their plans to construct high quality office accommodation for Ebrington.

invest in derryFirst Minister, the Rt. Hon. Arlene Foster and the deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness today provided details of their plans to construct high quality office accommodation for Ebrington. The Department of Finance approved the Executive Office business case for the development of modern, high quality, high specification, Grade A office accommodation on Ebrington.

The new 62,000 sq ft office which the Executive Office is backing by investing up to £5 million will be built above the existing underground car park on Ebrington on what is already established as a landmark site for the City. First Minister, Arlene Foster said: “This is a great opportunity for the Northern Ireland Executive to provide practical support for the business community and the North West. Developing high specification office space on a key site in Londonderry will allow potential investors to now consider the North West as a viable option. We want to create more and better jobs for the people of Northern Ireland and we must ensure the correct infrastructure is in place.

 

An artist's impression of what the office space could look like.

An artist’s impression of what the office space could look like.

The deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness said: “This new Grade ‘A’ office space which could cater for up to 500 people will enable the Ebrington site to become an economic hub for job creation and economic generation. “The new premium office space will not only create and sustain jobs in the construction phase but is an incentive for potential investors to locate here. Quality accommodation will help us in our drive to attract investment to the North West and creating a ‘pro-business’ environment and jobs for our people.”

Source: The Executive Office News

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