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Insider Media
  • 19/02/2025
Alice and Laurence discuss Belfast expansion for an AI firm, major planning approvals in Wales and a funding boost for a landmark museum.
Transcript
00:00Belfast expansion for an AI firm, major planning approvals in Wales, and a funding boost for
00:05a landmark museum. That's all coming up in today's business briefing.
00:15My name is Lawrence Kilgannon. And I'm Alice Bird.
00:18Well, morning, Alice. Morning, Lawrence.
00:19I think we'll start over in Northern Ireland, because really interesting news. AI is a real
00:24hot topic at the moment, isn't it? Yeah, it is.
00:28You hear all about it because of Elon Musk and his interest in chat GPT and stuff. So
00:32it's great when you get sort of more home homegrown stories. And we've got a really
00:36good result for Belfast, where Napier AI, they designed sort of anti money laundering
00:43software using AI tools and things like that, have selected Belfast for a new office. It's
00:50going to create more than 100 jobs. I think some of them are already in post. But, you
00:55know, fantastic to see that investment being secured in the UK. Absolutely. The business
01:02Napier AI, they were founded in 2015. Obviously, it's a really cutting edge tech firm. And
01:09they say they chose Belfast because it's a fintech sector that has there and so on. So
01:13interesting one to keep an eye on. Some of the jobs have already been created as well.
01:17So the project was supported by Invest NI. They do some great work. I mean, I'm sure
01:24they've got their critics as well. But we cover lots of stories from Invest NI Investments,
01:28which has sort of brought job creating projects over to the country. A bit like the Development
01:34Bank in Wales. And also, I suppose, the combined authorities. Yeah, they're doing a lot for
01:40jobs, especially, aren't they? They are and all parts of that sort. So now, away from
01:46sort of high tech world, you've got some news of a planning story in Liverpool. Yeah. So
01:52Jarron Investments has secured approval for its pretty major metalwork scheme in Liverpool. Now,
01:59the development is set for the Pumpfields area of Liverpool. So it will be on land at the junction
02:04of Leeds Street and Boxhall Road. I don't know if you know that area. I know you're from.
02:08I do. I do. I sometimes find myself at a loss with the various districts that they've been
02:14called because you've got the Innovation Quarter or Knowledge Quarter. Knowledge Quarter, Pumpfields.
02:18But Pumpfields is kind of, you know, along the dock. So near Everton Stadium. I think that's
02:24the aim is they're trying to kind of because of the Everton's new stadium, the location of it,
02:29they're trying to build the city centre out basically. So, you know, it goes all the way up
02:33to the stadium. So. Well, absolutely. A good friend of mine, he lives in the tobacco warehouse,
02:38which is over the road. He's a Liverpool fan. He's a Liverpool fan, ironically. So he lives in the
02:43stadium. Yeah, very near. And I went to visit recently and you can walk along a pretty desolate
02:50dock road. There's not much going on. So there's so much scope for investment.
02:54That's the aim. There's so much that's going to be built there.
02:57And what is the what is this particular project?
02:59So this scheme, it will include two 16 storey buildings. Now they'll be connected and they'll
03:06have 401 residential units, including five townhouses. There'll also be a ground floor
03:13commercial unit and a gym and obviously some car parking as well. Now it's kind of there's
03:18been quite a lot of interest in this site because previously plans had been approved.
03:22This was in 2017 and then fresh plans came forward in 2018. But no application for that
03:29was actually determined. And as a result, no work has progressed. So since then,
03:33it's kind of just been sitting there. There's nothing been going on. So it's really good news
03:37that something's actually coming forward. Yeah, and a real incentive to do that because
03:41there'll be people who'd want to sort of buy into an emerging district.
03:46Because actually, I was amazed that there weren't more, you know, shops, restaurants and bars.
03:51But we do do stories. In fact, we did one earlier this week about a new sort of
03:56event type space opening up. So it's going to explode.
03:59Especially because of Everton, there's going to be loads of new ones.
04:03As much as it pains me as a Liverpool fan, it does look fantastic and right on the waterfront as well.
04:09In fact, it's daft because I remember UNESCO, they had a quibble about the status of the
04:15waterfront because they thought Everton was going to detract from it, whereas I think
04:19it enhances it. So it'll be a great place to live when those flats are built. And actually
04:24sticking with planning, over in Wales, we've got two stories. We've got one in North Wales,
04:29and that is the Port of Mostyn has secured permission to expand. That's on the River Dee.
04:37It's on the other side to Liverpool. And they are getting permission to create a quay which will
04:44allow the larger offshore wind turbines to be assembled there. So again, another real growth
04:50area. And you can see the wind farms out in the Irish Sea from there. And there's obviously lots
04:59of scope for that to be developed out further. And that's going to support 300 jobs. So really
05:04exciting news for North Wales. And then in the south of the country, Port Talbot, a really big
05:10scheme. Tata Steel, they are bringing forward a new arc furnace for their site in Port Talbot.
05:18That's going to create or support hundreds of jobs. Bit of a funny one, I don't know if you're
05:22aware of it, but there was a situation where the old-fashioned blast furnace, they've decided
05:29they're going to shut that. And they're instead investing in this new one. So there are job losses
05:33associated with the closure, but there's jobs creation. Yeah, I guess it's a silver lining,
05:39I guess. It is a silver lining, but I think there were more jobs lost. But the technology,
05:45I looked into it, the blast furnace, they kind of make the steel from fresh using ingredients,
05:51whereas the arc furnace, they recycle steel. So it's steel that's no longer of purpose in what
05:58a building is in. It's melted down and recreated into new stuff. So fascinating stuff. And it's
06:04also being supported by 500 million pounds worth of government funding. So it's good to see. And
06:10that will keep steelmaking alive and well in Port Talbot. So yeah, that's really another
06:15interesting planning story. You've got news of a cultural investment in Liverpool again.
06:20I do, yeah. So sticking on the kind of government funding theme, the government has confirmed 10
06:26million pounds of funding for Liverpool's International Slavery Museum and its Maritime
06:31Museum. Now, I don't know if you remember, we actually covered last year that both museums
06:36are being kind of transformed, revamped a little bit. Yeah, no, exciting story because it's the
06:42Albert Dock, isn't it? And there's an amazing asset for Liverpool in terms of their tourism
06:47economy. So there's big investment going on. But why is the funding? Because we did a story about
06:51the planning as well. So the funding is a bit later on. Yeah, so the funding follows three
06:56months of consultation. So obviously, these schemes, they're really expensive. With the
07:01International Slavery Museum, they're going to create this really big, grand new entrance,
07:06which looks really great. We've got pictures of it on our website. So the 10 million pound is
07:10going to support that and it's going to help bring it forward, which is, obviously, both museums are
07:14really important for the city. Brilliant. And it is the, well, there is two museum quarters in
07:20Liverpool, I'd say. There's one by St George's Hall, but also in Albert Dock where you've got
07:24the Tate, which is also being revamped. So I mean, in five years' time, people will be spoilt for
07:29choice. So, well, to find out more about the stories we've been discussing, go to insidermedia.com.
07:35There, you can subscribe to our newsletters, you can subscribe to our magazines, and you can also
07:39find out about upcoming events. That's everything from us. See you next time.

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