Seymour Sweeney - Exclusive interview with the Coleraine Times
SWEENEY - it's a name that raises temperatures when it comes to development in the Coleraine area.
But what does the man really feel about some of the burning issues that residents and politicians take so much to heart.
Seymour Sweeney, the man behind Seaport Investments, has been talking exclusively to the Coleraine Times about some of the problems he faces and the plans that lie ahead.
At the centre of controversial developments at West Bay in Portrush and Millburn Road in Coleraine as well as a very public spat with local councillor and planning champion Christine Alexander, Seymour declined to talk about his personal life but was happy to give his opinions on a range of issues.
Born and bred in Portballintrae, Seymour studied economics at Queen's University in Belfast where he studied Economics and went on to work in a variety of businesses. He said: "I went away for a few years and worked for a number of companies at director level both within and outside the UK but I made the decision to come back home. I am a local guy from a local family whose origins in Portballintrae date back to the early 1900's and I have the best interests of the area at heart.
"I came back and started out on my own account in 1991. Since then I have been involved in development and other businesses through Seaport Investments and in my own name."
He makes no bones about the fact that he is in the business of building houses and creating developments, across the province and further afield. "About 80 percent of our developments are in Northern Ireland," he says.
"We have large developments in Belfast, Ballymena and Larne where we have been welcomed by Councils and local people alike with very few or no problems with plans and objections."
The company has a wide variety of interests including the pub and restaurant trade, convenience stores and tourism interests - for example it financially rescued the Bushmills and Giant's Causeway Railway - as well as the better-known property development business. Property development is, of course, a mainstay of the business. "At the moment we have about 30m worth of contracts underway. That is a position that rolls on from year to year as we finish one project and move on to another.
"I don't know how many people are employed because of our developments and other work but believe it to be considerable. We have a tight but focused team based in our offices in Portballintrae at the centre of the business but there are many, many more employed in all sorts of ways.
"As well as the actual construction business we have many others employed in development of projects and providing expert advice and guidance, from architects and planning consultants to aboriculturalists - tree experts - and engineers. We try, as much as possible, to source people and services from within Northern Ireland, but for some projects we have to look elsewhere.
"We want to create top class developments and we believe we need to have the best people to work with us. Fortunately there are a lot of good people in Northern Ireland.
"Along with other developers we are attracting investment to the North Coast area and across Northern Ireland and we are attracting people to live in the area."
In the course of his work Seymour has many dealings with planners and people in the community who object to some of the plans he proposes. His operation is now finely tuned and he has a number of interesting comments on current planning issues.
The controversial issue of second homes in the coastal area is one that he has a ready answer to. Seymour contends that there have always been a lot of holiday homes that are left unused for much of the year and a smaller core of locals who live there all year round, making their livelihood on the back of the second home owners many of whom eventually retire to the area.
"Many, if not all the grand houses along the coast were built as second homes for well-to-do people from other parts of the Province," he said. "Many of the grand terraces in Portrush and other coastal resorts were built for the same purposes, for people to escape from the cities and towns of the Province. A whole industry grew up in Portrush and the surrounding seaside resorts, catering for holiday makers and people with holiday homes by the coast and laterally caravans."
A famous example is "Seaport Lodge "in Portballintrae which was built originally as a bathing lodge for the Leslie family from Ballymoney in 1770 as well as Runkerry House in 1884.
"If you were to look at the ratio of second homes to permanent residents in areas such as Portballintrae it would not be that much different today than in years gone by. The locals who have lived there for years do not have a problem with the issue, it seems to be people who have not been in the area for so long.
"There is a perception that the areas are like 'ghost towns' in the winter. That may be as much to do with the weather as anything else. What is the problem of houses being unoccupied and people being able to use them as they want as happens with caravans and many of the area's bed and breakfasts?"
He contends that outside the holiday season the towns and villages along the coast have always taken on the appearance of ghost towns in the off-season and that things are no different now. If it were not for the work done by developers, he argues, there would be no economic activity in the seaside towns for a large part of the year.
With the development of apartments and other second homes there is now a vibrant year round economy supporting a whole range of businesses. These range from restaurants and pubs to supplying the more basic requirements for heating, food and decoration.
Despite what some people think not all the projects Seymour undertakes result in totally new development. He proudly points to the detailed renovation of Runkerry House at the Giant's Causeway where a lot of effort went into sympathetic restoration and the planned redevelopment of Seaport Lodge in Portballintrae soon to commence.
He insists he doesn't always get his own way. He has had plans turned down despite putting a lot of work into them.
An example was a privately financed development for the Giant's Causeway Visitor Centre. A major scheme would have seen a total transformation of the facilities but Moyle District Council did not accept the Seaport scheme or one proposed by the National Trust at the time and to date temporary visitor facilities still exist at Northern Ireland's principal tourist destination approaching seven years after the fire which burnt down the previous centre.
He accepts that to some people he is an ogre and that objectors to some of his developments seem to personalise the issues.
He said: "Some people hold me personally responsible when they object to proposals. I am commercially driven when I propose developments and the planners take us seriously.
"Developers create a flow of projects but the objectors are trying to cut the spokes out of that wheel. If objectors have material and reasonable objections they should pursue them but if they do not then they should stop.
"People object to plans because the experience of their environment, and where they live, has changed or could change."
He points out that planners must assess applications under strict criteria and insists that when he puts in an application it has been finely tuned to meet those criteria. Even so he often enters into negotiations with the planners to make the plans potentially more acceptable to local residents.
One example was a proposed development at Mountsandel Road in Coleraine. In that case he made amendments to the plans after consulting the planners and has had his plans approved.
As part of the painstaking process he now has visual simulations of the planned developments made so that their impact can be seen clearly. These are made available to planners and objectors and help people visualise the finished development clearly.
One thing that many may not appreciate is that objections can be costly to developers, as they have to change plans and face delays. However, it is the purchaser who will eventually bear the cost in purchase terms and it all causes property prices to rise.
Seymour says that if he loses out in a planning application he has no hard feelings, he just moves on. Objectors, in his view, should also move on and not bear grudges.
Another common objection is that a new development nearby will reduce the value of existing homes but Seymour believes the opposite to be the case.
He said: "Good, well-designed and constructed developments increase the price of property in the surrounding areas. It has been my experience that well designed new builds will increase the value of property that is already in the area. I am not aware of property suffering a drop in value as the result of any new development in an area.
On the subject of prices Seymour feels that the housing market in Northern Ireland is very strong at the minute – but is aware that it can ebb and flow depending upon market conditions.
Height restrictions for developments and the limitations on greenfield sites imposed by Government means that the flow of land has become severely restricted. Lack of supply of land coupled with strong demand for housing will ensure that prices remain high with the result that developers will continue to buy two or three existing houses adjacent to one another with a view to knocking them down and building a greater number of houses in their place.
Councils appear to have problems with planning issues but Seymour sees greater difficulties in the future. He feels that councillors presently act in good faith but possibly lack detailed knowledge of the extensive range of planning regulations.
He said: "Councillors should all act together. They should be impartial and allow themselves only to be swayed by rational debate and planning policies in so far as they relate to specific applications and not to individuals.
"They seem to have lost that. They seem to react as they think voters want them to do and seem to have little interest in issues unless they think there are votes in it for them.
"I used to in the past contact councillors to try to resolve planning issues but seldom do now.
"I tell people the truth in all the issues I deal with but unfortunately others often distort what is happening for their own reasons."
There could also be problems for the proposed new 'Super Councils'. He said: "When we have these new Councils in place I understand Councillors will have greater planning powers.
" I think there could be considerable disquiet for years until it's realised that by adopting a negative approach to planning and development the consequences will be economic blight. Many smaller firms will suffer as they struggle to cope with the costs of the legal battles that may follow if Councils are challenged on their decisions.
"Planners will come along and give professional advice but I can foresee Councils potentially setting aside such advice in favour of lay opinion. This may lead to legal challenge reviews and decisions being overturned but in any event have the propensity to lengthen planning time frames and increase the end cost to purchasers.
Affordable social housing is another issue and Seymour points the finger at Government. He said: "When I was growing up we lived in a rented house in Portballintrae. We couldn't afford to buy a house but people were able to come into the area from outside and buy houses as second homes.
"There was social housing provided by the Councils and then the Housing Executive. Now that they have either slowed down or stopped there is very little social housing being built by the public sector.
"In such circumstances it is unrealistic to believe that the private sector can provide social housing when the price of development land is over 1.5m an acre. Previously the Government was providing social housing but now they are expecting it to be provided by the private sector.
"One potential solution would be a joint approach by the public and private sectors in an attempt to address this very important issue where in the long term the social housing could be offered for sale to the occupants."
Although a Portballintrae man Seymour has an affinity with the wider Coleraine and coastal area, which he wants to see flourish. He said: "If we want people to shop in Coleraine and the surrounding area we are going to have to create things in the area to attract them as well as to retain our young people.
"We need to re-invent the area and create an attractive destination.
"If people want the A26 corridor, including Coleraine, to grow then there has to be investment and development. If they want to see schools improving, together with the provision of hospitals and the creation of jobs and prosperity then they need to allow the area to grow and naturally evolve in order to be sure that it is not only capable of meeting the challenges of modern society but also capable of competing with other forward-looking areas within Northern Ireland."
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Weather for Coleraine
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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