My recent source has told me that aer arann/ aer lingus regional has put BFS and southend on hold for the moment.
If ei are canceling Rome and gran canaria this may leave room for a new regional route, I do remember someone saying a while back that there is currently a few spare slots in the BFS schedule so if you include this along with the cancelled routes there is definite space for regional flights I doubt they would launch a new summer route now. So fingers crossed for regional routes!