Yes the aversion to contact gate provision is a Manchester favourite whereby they either don't work, get partially or wholly dismantled, or as you say taken out of the design completely - something passengers certainly would not choose in this rainy windswept part of the world even if some of the airlines are happy with it. Your point is valid regarding flexibility and timing of major projects, but if in practice this means almost constant works, unreliability, terminal swapping of airlines, de-scoping, and general penny pinching leading to grouchy passengers and airlines who would prefer to go elsewhere then it can only happen when there is at least some slack in the system.