Write a comment
Newry and Mourne District Council has made a statement regarding the naming of Raymond McCreesh Park.
"The Council has received a number of queries with regard to the equality impact assessment conducted in relation to the naming of Raymond McCreesh Park, and wish to clarify the current position with respect to the process and decisions taken by Council.
The original decision to rename Patrick Street Play Park as Raymond McCreesh Park was taken in 2001 following a postal survey of residents within the local area where the park is located, where 84% of respondents indicated they were in favour of the re-naming. Although a non-Council sign had been erected at the park, the Council did erect a new sign renaming Raymond McCreesh Park.
In 2007, the Council changed its current policy position wherein, ‘No buildings, facilities or rooms would be named after any individual person except in exceptional circumstances i.e. if someone is to be recognized Nationally or Internationally.
During 2008 Council received a formal complaint that they had breached Section 75 of the NI Act 1998 in relation to the name of the park. Following consideration of legal opinion Council decided to carry out an equality impact assessment in relation to the Naming of Raymond McCreesh Park.
As part of the equality impact assessment process the Council conducted a twelve week public consultation which sought views on the matter through written responses and a public meeting which was attended by 26 people. The Council received 29 written responses. Of these responses twenty-five objected to the renaming, three supported the renaming and one response from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland provided and guidance to the matter. At the public meeting the majority or attendees were in favour of the Council’s decision to rename the park.
Following the close of the consultation, to assist Council in its decision-making process, an independent analysis of the responses was commissioned to identify the key issues, implications and potential mitigating actions.
The consultation analysis acknowledged the difficulty of assessing actions undertaken in 2001 by current standards and recommended that, in an attempt to promote shared and welcoming space in all areas of the district the scope of any similar consultations should not be limited to the immediate area. Decisions should not be solely based upon obtaining a proportionate majority, but consideration should also be given to reasons behind any objections and the potential impact upon territorialisation and cross-community mobility. In addition, it was clear the current Council policy adopted in 2007 was open to interpretation.
While the report presented options, which included changing or retaining the name of the park, the Council needed to formally acknowledge the decision to rename the park had potential to adversely impact upon good relations between people of different religions and political opinions.
The Consultation Analysis Report was considered by at the Council’s Party Leaders meeting and discussed at the Elected Members Forum.
At Newry and Mourne District Council’s Monthly meeting on 3 December 2012 the Council adopted the recommendations of the Staff and Policy / Equality Committee meeting held on Wednesday 21 November 2012. In relation to the Council’s Equality Impact Assessment of the naming of Raymond McCreesh Park the Council has agreed:
The Council agree to uphold the decision to grant the application for renaming Patrick Street Play area as Raymond McCreesh Park and that in so doing Council formally acknowledge that the decision to rename the play park had potential to adversely impact upon good relations between people of different religious belief and political opinion.
The Council remove existing park signage, non-Council and Official sign, and erect a new sign in keeping with Council policy.
The current Council policy regarding applications to name a Council building, facility or room after an individual person be equality screened.
All Council policies, adopted or proposed to be adopted, be screened to ensure compliance with Council's Equality Scheme.
The Council review all current approaches to consultation and decision-making arrangements."
