Belfast councillors last night rejected two private sector proposals to build a national sports stadium for the North in the city.
Their decision angered the developer behind one of the plans. Paul Durnien, who headed a consortium seeking to build a 25,000-seater complex in Belfast's Ormeau Park, said: "I have been working with the council for nearly four years on this.
"To get a phone call tonight saying we are stopping this whole process is a strange way to do business."
Mr Durnien, who is to seek legal advice on the decision taken by the council's Parks and Leisure Committee, vowed to press ahead with his project. He stressed that the £67 million building costs would have been privately financed.
Even though the committee decided to stop its assessment of the two remaining private sector proposals, it agreed to develop the business case for a stadium development in the city.
The city council is fighting a rival move by the British government to build a national sports stadium on the old Maze Prison site near Lisburn, Co Antrim.
PA
