Write a comment
A Council working group set up to consider the findings of the recently published Newry City Centre Regeneration Programme Public Consultation will have representatives from all Hill Street, Newry Church denominations and a representative from the Arts on board as well as Council officials and other business representatives.
The 'Outline Business Case Public Consultation Working Group' was originally designed in September 2021 to just include representatives from the Council's Enterprise, Regeneration and Tourism Directorate, Community Relations Team (DEA); Planning Team; the Communities and the Department for Infrastructure. There was no mention of Church representatives, business or arts representatives!
At last night's, 20 January, Strategy, Policy and Resources meeting, Councillors were asked to agree to invite "all the local church denominations" to the Working Group but this was amended to just Hill Street Churches, with a late proposal by a Councillor also adopted to include an arts representative. Councillors also agreed to add the 'Outline Business Case Public Consultation Working Group' to the programme governance arrangements of the Newry City Centre Regeneration (NCCR) Programme board.
It all stems from a SP&R Meeting on 27 September 2021 where it was agreed that "officers will establish a working group to consider the public consultation report in detail and how the Council should respond to the comments and report back to the Programme Board."
The Consultation produced by Otium Leisure Consultancy was published in September but whether the Consultation report needs to be 'considered' is certainly subject to interpretation. Almost 1600 online respondents in the main detailed strong negative feelings on the proposed new Civic Centre for Newry, especially in regard to the choice of site and the potential impact on Newry Cathedral. There was also much scepticism about the need for such significant investment in offices for the Council.Out of 773 responses just 8.4% were explicitly supportive of the proposals with negative comments about the proposals dominating. Respondants in the main strongly disagreed about any anticipated benefits of the Civic Centre proposal.
Newry Cathedral Parish in whose 'back garden' the proposed Civic Centre is planned for have spoken out against the project, one of the main issues being the removal of car parking provision from behind the Cathedral.
Meetings Schedule
Councillors also agreed to change the schedule of the NCCR Programme Board meetings to every two months with intermediate meetings facilitated as required.
Only minutes from the NCCR Programme Board, Strategy, Policy and Resources Meeting and full Council Meeting find their way into the public domain but occasionally as in last night's meeting the programme board minutes are witheld as a 'restricted item'. Even when the Programme Board minutes do appear in their slot at the SP&R meeting they are 'for noting' and an opportunity is not available for Councillors to query items.
Meetings are a complicated affair, especially around the Newry City Centre Regeneration project. Discussions from the Albert Basin Park Project Meeting and the NCCR / Belfast Region City Deal Project Board meeting make their way to the NCCR Project Board meeting which then go to the NCCR Programme Board, then to the Strategy, Policy and Resources Committee and lastly to Full Council Meeting. The new Working Group will feed into the NCCR Programme Board.
As well as the late addition of representatives from all the local church denominations on Hill Street in Newry the OBC Public Consultation Working Group will be made up of Councillors, Council Management, Department for Communities, Newry DEA, Confederation of Community Groups, Newry BID and Newry Chamber of Commerce.
The Newry City Centre Regeneration Programme Public Consultation isn't standalone on the Councils website at present but it can be found near the bottom of the Agenda of September's Special SP&R meeting via: {cwattachments}
