Write a comment
Newry Mourne and Down District Council Chief Executive Marie Ward has accepted an invitation to meet with the Board of Newry BID to discuss the proposed new Civic Hub (council offices) behind Newry Cathedral, council plans for city centre parking, the impact on flooding and the council response, and business rates which are crippling the business community.
The meeting will take place on Westminster Election day, Thursday July 4.
Mrs Ward has met on previous occasions with the Board of Newry Chamber of Commerce and Trade, which has just over 300 members and is more focussed on the greater Newry area, to brief them on matters relating to the council’s Newry city centre regeneration plans.
Despite Newry BID being in existence since 2016 and having some 600 city centre members and being the main representative body of the city centre business community, this will be the first time Mrs Ward has met with the BID Board.
It is understood that Council Director Conor Mallon, who is leading the council’s Newry regeneration projects will also attend the meeting which, it is believed, will be his first meeting with the BID board.
The meeting follows last week’s emergency meeting in the Canal Court Hotel, called for by city centre businesses and facilitated by Newry Bid, when some 122 city centre businesses were represented.
‘No’ to media interview requests
Meanwhile, Council management leading the Newry City Centre Regeneration projects have once again turned down a local media request for an interview.
On the back of the launch some weeks ago of the council’s new Newry Regeneration Stakeholder Group, which promised ‘communication’, and ‘engagement’ and that it would ‘keep the public informed’, Newry.ie requested an interview with Council Director Conor Mallon, or one of his Newry City Centre Regeneration team to discuss the proposed new council offices, the SYSTRA car park survey and findings, Cecil Street and North Street car park plans and the theatre/conference centre and public realm.
As with previous requests, this one was turned down too. In a statement a council spokesperson said: “Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is not in a position to facilitate your interview request. Please note however, that Newry, Mourne and Down District Council will provide regular updates on the NCCR project to the media at key approval stages.”
The one and only Newry regeneration media briefing senior council management has held with local media was almost five years ago in September 2019 when Council CEO Marie Ward and the then Project Director Adrian Grimshaw took questions on council plans for Newry city centre.
