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Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has approved its Assessment of Performance for 2025-26, setting out progress or lack of progress made against key priorities over the past year.
One area where Council failed to reach its target was in Planning. The target for processing local planning applications is 15 weeks but since 2022 it has steadily crept up and currently the provisional time for applications to be processed is a lengthy 60.2 weeks. Major planning applications fare even worse with a provisional time for applications of 100.3 weeks. Newry landmark project the City Park is still currently in planning and no work can start on the signature project till several months after planning has been approved.
Absenteeism is another area where the figures are going the wrong road with an average of 24.93 days lost per full time equivalent employee in 2025/26, an increase of 3.43 days from 2024/25. It also notes that 47% of the workforce had no recorded absence in 2025/26 suggesting that the 53% who did record absence, were absent a good bit more more than the 24.93 day average.
Among the achievements highlighted, the Council supported 317 local businesses and social enterprises through economic development programmes, helping to create 252 new jobs.
As regards our area's health more than 28,000 people took part in targeted health programmes during the year, while the Council's six leisure centres recorded over 930,000 paid attendances. The Financial Assistance Scheme awarded £1.97 million to support 361 local projects, and environmental enforcement activity increased, with more fixed penalty notices issued for offences including littering, dog fouling and fly-tipping, along with a rise in fines paid.
The Assessment also identifies areas where further progress is needed. While all community clean-up requests were supported, the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill rose by 18.6 per cent, from 429 tonnes in 2024-25 to 509 tonnes in 2025-26.
Chairperson of the Strategy, Policy and Resources Committee, Councillor Callum Bowsie said the Assessment reflected both the achievements and the challenges of the past year. "I am pleased to present this year's Assessment of Performance. While 2025–26 presented a number of challenges, the Council remained committed to delivering essential services and providing valued programmes, events and initiatives for our residents, businesses and visitors," Cllr Bowsie said. "This Assessment of Performance provides an opportunity to reflect on the past year, recognising the achievements we can be proud of, acknowledging the challenges we have navigated and identifying the areas where we will continue to focus our efforts to improve outcomes for our communities."
The Assessment was considered and approved by the Strategy, Policy and Resources Committee on Thursday 13 August 2026.
Further information on the Council's performance during 2025-26 will be available on the Council's website by 30 September 2026 at www.newrymournedown.org.
