Latest news with #Coventry-based
Belfast Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Self-driving shuttle bus launched in Belfast Harbour
The Harlander shuttle has entered into general service today, with the eight-seater shuttle bus connecting the train station and the Catalyst Campus, just off Queens Road. There is no driver on board the bus, although there is a "safety operator' sitting behind a wheel that turns itself. Belfast Harbour say the goal of the project is to offer 'last mile connectivity' between the train station and the rest of the harbour estate, connecting 'transport networks to businesses, tourist attractions and education and leisure facilities'. During a pilot period between now and September, the bus will be entirely free to use for members of the public. The Harlander was developed by the Harbour along with several other companies, including eVersum, Oxa, Angoka, BT and Horiba Mira. A special right-hand drive version of an electric bus was created specifically for the Harlander service by the Austrian firm Hobira Mira. Oxa are behind the self-driving technology, while safety testing was carried out by Hobira Mira, a Coventry-based company. In May, Belfast Harbour said the vehicle was 'tested to death' by Hobira Mira in order to ensure its safety. Mike Dawson, people and digital transformation director at Belfast Harbour, said: 'Following eight weeks of testing, we are delighted to launch the Harlander to the public to offer last mile connectivity on the Harbour Estate. 'This is a groundbreaking project for Northern Ireland and is a step towards fully driverless transport. 'Belfast Harbour has a strong track record of supporting innovation and this project supports our Smart Port ambitions, utilising cutting-edge technology to support our tenants and the public. 'We're excited to see the public reaction and utilisation of the service.' In May, Mr Dawson described the shuttle as an attempt to 'incentivise' people to use public transport by more seamlessly connecting the train and Catalyst. He described the current loop of four stops as a 'model and a blueprint' that will be used to find what is 'viable for other services'. 'What we'd like to do is have this run, learn from it, particularly the passenger experience and customer experience. 'What does that look like? What does that feel like? What needs to be tweaked, improved? How do you make sure there are no barriers to entry for people to be able to get on and access it?' The Harbour plan for the Harlander to be a first step towards an increasing amount of autonomous vehicles being used in Northern Ireland's transport network. Mr Dawson said that he would 'like to see' self-driving vehicles across the city: 'We would like to see more of these, where you can create connectivity on the estate itself. 'We see this as a much bigger play regionally, not just for Northern Ireland, but also for GB, where you can get connectivity to those main routes. 'Imagine you had estates in the city where you had these types of routes feeding the Glider route. 'It doesn't replace bus drivers, it augments what we have in place today.'
Irish Post
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Post
Human rights lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh ‘honoured' to join team at University of Galway
LEADING human rights lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh has been appointed as adjunct professor at the University of Galway. The barrister, who is based at the Matrix Chambers in London, said it was an 'honour' to take up the role. 'It is such an honour to be invited to join the University of Galway as Adjunct Professor,' she said this week. 'At a time when the very fundamentals of international law are under such extreme threat globally, I look forward to working alongside such dedicated colleagues to instill in the next generation of lawyers coming through, a steadfast commitment to justice and to upholding human rights for all,' she added. Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh's parents hail from Dublin and Mayo Ms Ní Ghrálaigh, who specialises in international law, civil liberties, human rights, protest law and international criminal law, has played a pivotal role in numerous high profile human rights cases over the years. They include the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, the Hooded Men case and that of the Coventry-based Keane family, who fought to have their mother's grave inscribed with a message in Irish. She is currently on the legal team representing Kneecap band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh who is fighting a terror offence charge issued by the Metropolitan Police. Ms Ní Ghrálaigh is called to the Bars of England and Wales, and Ireland, North and South, and is on the International Criminal Court's List of Counsel. At international level, Ms Ní Ghrálaigh was a member of the legal team which represented South Africa before the International Court of Justice in the case taken against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention. She has also represented the State of Palestine in advisory proceedings concerning the activities of the United Nations in Palestine. Commenting on the appointment, Professor Siobhán Mullally, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway, said 'Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh is an outstanding lawyer, who is at the frontline in legal efforts to defend human rights and uphold international law. "She has inspired many to fight for international justice and it is an honour to have her on our adjunct faculty'. See More: Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, Matrix Chambers, University Of Galway
Leader Live
29-05-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
New owner for the Crown Inn pub in Caergwrle
Businessman Robert Venn approached law firm Brindley Twist Tafft & James (BTTJ) when he was in the process of preparing to buy The Crown Inn on the High Street in Caergwrle. Alex Khan, managing partner at Midlands firm BTTJ and an expert in commercial property law, explained Coventry-based Mr Venn's initial request was for assistance with conveyancing on his property, as he was in the process of extending the lease to make it more attractive for sale. Read more: Australian bar saved after being transformed into Wrexham AFC fan dream But as the same time he mentioned the potential of selling his home and buying the pub in Wales, and so Mr Khan explained the complexity of the process, what steps were needed, and in what order. Mr Khan said: "We are delighted Mr Venn is now the new owner of The Crown Inn. "He needed initial expert advice regarding negotiating terms and finalisation of the lease extension on his property. "Once this was completed, he was able to sell his flat for a higher price, as the buyer saw the extended lease as better security. Read more: Three 'unforgettable' seaside pubs in North Wales named among the UK's best "Mr Venn was then able to combine the funds raised from his residential property sale with a commercial loan that enabled his purchase of the pub. "As ever with these investment projects, there were various twists and turns along the way, and we were happy to help guide Mr Venn through what developed into a complex legal and taxation process." The freehold interest in The Crown Inn had been marketed by property agency Sydney Phillips at an asking price of £230,000 - although the final purchase price has not been disclosed. The traditional pub is an end-terraced property with a bar, lounge and seating for 65, a split-level beer garden, and five-bedroomed owner's accommodation above. Read more: Kat hopes to blend wellbeing and business with Flintshire smoothie bar Mr Venn said: "I am thrilled to be the new owner of The Crown Inn and look forward to the venue serving the community in Caergwrle with a warm welcome for many years to come. "The advice I received from Alex at BTTJ was truly excellent. He helped guide me from the inception of an idea through to completion of a pub purchase, with an assured calm that I doubt could be rivalled. "Also, because I was purchasing the pub as a going concern, there were various complexities involving the transfer of the business and VAT issues, a stumbling point for other experts involved, but all expertly handled by Alex. "The process was lengthy and complex, but thanks to BTTJ I have now achieved my ambition of owning the pub."
Belfast Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Could this self-driving Belfast bus soon be taking you to work or the airport?
The Harlander is planned to operate 12 hours a day, carrying up to nine passengers at a time on a route around Belfast's Titanic Quarter. Belfast Harbour hopes to expand these routes in coming years, connecting to the airport and potentially connecting other areas of Northern Ireland to more mainstream public transport. The driverless shuttle is currently completing safety testing, but can already be seen doing practice runs around roads in the area. Belfast Harbour plans the Harlander to run a 15-20 route, on a timetable aligned to the arrival of trains at Titanic Halt station. The timetable currently has approximate running hours from 6:30am to 6:30/7:00pm. The shuttle will initially run with safety attendants sitting at the driver's seat, however Belfast Harbour aims to eventually run it with no direct human input at all. Mike Dawson, 53, the people and digital transformation director at Belfast Harbour, says 'the purpose of the bus is to create last mile connectivity between the Titanic halt and initially, the Catalyst building. 'Then we have a loop of about four stops on the estate that it will stop on initially, to get a model and a blueprint that's viable for other services.' Mr Dawson says there are several goals for the current testing phase: 'What we'd like to do is have this run, learn from it, particularly the passenger experience and customer experience. 'What does that look like? What does that feel like? What needs to be tweaked, improved? How do you make sure there are no barriers to entry for people to be able to get on and access it?' Self-driving vehicles can be an unnerving technology for some, but Mr Dawson wants the shuttle to become 'reassuringly boring, that you're just getting transported from point A to point B.' He says the advantage is 'cost, more than anything else.' 'Translink run a great service, the Glider, up and down. But when we looked at it, we wanted more people to potentially use the train. 'You've got that 1.3 miles, how do you get people to do that? If the weather's atrocious, you're putting people off. How can we incentivise people to have a seamless experience: you get on the train, you get on the Harlander, [it] takes you to Catalyst, you're at your place of work.' The shuttle has been designed in partnership with several other companies including eVersum, Oxa, Angoka, BT and Horiba Mira. eVersum is an Austrian company which develops electric buses, and they created a right-hand drive model specifically for the Harlander. The self-driving technology comes from Oxa, who Mr Dawson describes as 'world-class in this space'. Safety testing has been carried out by Coventry-based firm Horiba Mira who have 'tested to death' the vehicles. 'They have a model of the Harbour estate on their land, they've run this model for months and months and months. 'We're going to do the same here, we've been doing it for the last few weeks, we're going to do it for another three to four. We're very confident it does what it needs to do. But, fundamentally, you still have a driver's seat there, you still have a steering wheel, you still have the ability to intervene should it be necessary.' While there will be safety attendants sitting in the driver's seat at first, Mr Dawson says 'the truth is, it will largely run in autonomous mode.' There are plans to get the Hardlander to a 'level four' self-driving vehicle, where 'there is no safety attendant, there is no driver.' Mr Dawson said he 'would like to see' an expansion of self-driving transport across Belfast and Northern Ireland. 'We would like to see more of these, where you can create connectivity on the estate itself. 'We see this as a much bigger play regionally, not just for Northern Ireland, but also for GB, where you can get connectivity to those main routes. Imagine you had estates in the city where you had these types of routes feeding the Glider route. 'It doesn't replace bus drivers, it augments what we have in place today.' Joe O'Neill, chief executive of Belfast Harbour, says the Harlander is a vital cog in its five-year strategy' and wants better connectivity 'with some of our other services, like Cruise, bringing passengers into the city. 'Connectivity to the airport is an important one as well, how we can work with the Belfast City Airport,' he added.
Belfast Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Could this self-driving bus soon be taking you to work or the airport?
A new self-driving shuttle bus was launched yesterday, ahead of going into service in Belfast Harbour in the coming months. The Harlander is planned to operate 12 hours a day, carrying up to nine passengers at a time on a route around Belfast's Titanic Quarter. Belfast Harbour hopes to expand these routes in coming years, connecting to the airport and potentially connecting other areas of Northern Ireland to more mainstream public transport. The driverless shuttle is currently completing safety testing, but can already be seen doing practice runs around roads in the area. Belfast Harbour plans the Harlander to run a 15-20 route, on a timetable aligned to the arrival of trains at Titanic Halt station. The timetable currently has approximate running hours from 6:30am to 6:30/7:00pm. The shuttle will initially run with safety attendants sitting at the driver's seat, however Belfast Harbour aims to eventually run it with no direct human input at all. Mike Dawson, 53, the people and digital transformation director at Belfast Harbour, says 'the purpose of the bus is to create last mile connectivity between the Titanic halt and initially, the Catalyst building. 'Then we have a loop of about four stops on the estate that it will stop on initially, to get a model and a blueprint that's viable for other services.' Mr Dawson says there are several goals for the current testing phase: 'What we'd like to do is have this run, learn from it, particularly the passenger experience and customer experience. 'What does that look like? What does that feel like? What needs to be tweaked, improved? How do you make sure there are no barriers to entry for people to be able to get on and access it?' Self-driving vehicles can be an unnerving technology for some, but Mr Dawson wants the shuttle to become 'reassuringly boring, that you're just getting transported from point A to point B.' He says the advantage is 'cost, more than anything else.' 'Translink run a great service, the Glider, up and down. But when we looked at it, we wanted more people to potentially use the train. 'You've got that 1.3 miles, how do you get people to do that? If the weather's atrocious, you're putting people off. How can we incentivise people to have a seamless experience: you get on the train, you get on the Harlander, [it] takes you to Catalyst, you're at your place of work.' The shuttle has been designed in partnership with several other companies including eVersum, Oxa, Angoka, BT and Horiba Mira. eVersum is an Austrian company which develops electric buses, and they created a right-hand drive model specifically for the Harlander. The self-driving technology comes from Oxa, who Mr Dawson describes as 'world-class in this space'. Safety testing has been carried out by Coventry-based firm Horiba Mira who have 'tested to death' the vehicles. 'They have a model of the Harbour estate on their land, they've run this model for months and months and months. 'We're going to do the same here, we've been doing it for the last few weeks, we're going to do it for another three to four. We're very confident it does what it needs to do. But, fundamentally, you still have a driver's seat there, you still have a steering wheel, you still have the ability to intervene should it be necessary.' While there will be safety attendants sitting in the driver's seat at first, Mr Dawson says 'the truth is, it will largely run in autonomous mode.' There are plans to get the Hardlander to a 'level four' self-driving vehicle, where 'there is no safety attendant, there is no driver.' Mr Dawson said he 'would like to see' an expansion of self-driving transport across Belfast and Northern Ireland. 'We would like to see more of these, where you can create connectivity on the estate itself. 'We see this as a much bigger play regionally, not just for Northern Ireland, but also for GB, where you can get connectivity to those main routes. Imagine you had estates in the city where you had these types of routes feeding the Glider route. 'It doesn't replace bus drivers, it augments what we have in place today.' Joe O'Neill, chief executive of Belfast Harbour, says the Harlander is a vital cog in its five-year strategy' and wants better connectivity 'with some of our other services, like Cruise, bringing passengers into the city. 'Connectivity to the airport is an important one as well, how we can work with the Belfast City Airport,' he added.
