Write a comment
From November 2020 to January 2021, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council ran a 12-week public consultation seeking ratepayers’ views on how they wanted to pay for parking in council owned forest and country parks including Kilbroney Park and Slieve Gullion.
The survey took place even though councillors had made no decisions as to the potential introduction of car parking charges at the two local forest parks however, the title of the public consultation - “Consultation on the method for collecting charges for Parking at Forest and Country Parks in Newry, Mourne and Down” - gave the impression that a charge to park in the likes of Kilbroney Park and Slieve Gullion was a done deal.
In reality, the introduction of parking charges wasn’t a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’.
In September 2020, a paper, ‘Forest Park charging’, was set before councillors by council management in the council minutes of the Strategy, Policy and Resources (SP&R) committee meeting.
Under ‘subject’ it read: “Forest Park charging” and under decision, it stated: “Members asked to agree to the recommendations contained in the report to undertake a consultation and further necessary works prior to the introduction of charging.”
It was not known what the recommendations were as the report was not included within the SP&R agenda but councillors agreed to both recommendations put to them. The writing was already on the wall.
Consultation that didn't ask the obvious question
Among the questions in the public consultation was ‘Would you consider purchasing a discounted annual pass for local residents for car parking at one of the following parks?’ and ‘How would you prefer to pay a parking charge?’ - all relating to (Slieve Gullion, Kilbroney and Delamont parks),
However, the question the survey did not ask - and another indicator charging was basically a ‘done deal’ if not yet on paper - was for peoples’ views on the introduction of a charge for parking in any of the parks in the first instance, or whether they were in favour or not of a parking charge being introduced to Kilbroney Park or Slieve Gullion.
At the time the council said it was ‘gathering information from district residents’ that would be used ‘to consider the option of introducing a charge for car parking at Kilbroney and Slieve Gullion Forest Parks, in addition to maintaining the car parking charge that is currently collected at Delamont Country Park’.
Council wouldn’t publish public consultation results
In April 2021, the council said the consultation on charged parking at Forest and Country Parks had been completed and work was progressing ‘to evaluate the information gathered in the consultation process and to develop options for consideration’ by councillors and further information would be available once the exercise has been concluded.
Six months later, in September 2021, the council was ‘still working to evaluate the survey information’ but when pressed it became obvious there was no intention of releasing the results of the public consultation as it would “consider any proposals as part of the rates process for the 2022- 2023 Financial Year”.
Director refused to answer councillor’s questions in public
At the November 2021 Full Council meeting, the Council Director whose department was responsible for the public consultation into charged parking at Kilbroney and Slieve Gullion - Conor Mallon - refused to answer questions on the subject in public.
Crotlieve Independent councillor Mark Gibbons asked where the council was on the public consultation. “It has taken such a long time to get the results out,” he said.
“We were good enough to ask the people for their opinion and it seems to be we’re reluctant to find out what their opinion was. So, can we get a bit of detail on that; is there any sign of the results coming out?”
The response from Mr Mallon, was that he was happy to talk to Cllr Gibbons on the matter “outside” of the meeting.
Compromise
A proposal from then Council Chairperson, Sinn Féin councillor Cathy Mason that residents of Newry, Mourne and Down District were guaranteed free access to local forest parks, that had passed through the Strategic Finance Working Group in November, went before the Full Council in January 2022.
Council management had their own proposals which they put before councillors:
Option 1 - Do Nothing - Continue to charge for car parking at Delamont Country Park and Castlewellan Forest Park. Free parking to be maintained at Slieve Gullion and Kilbroney Forest Parks.
Option 2 - Remove carpark charging from all sites.
Option 3 – Implement Standardised car park charges for the use of all Council Forest and Country Parks
Option 4 - Implement car park charges for the use of all Council Forest and Country Parks - with discounts/reduced pricing for residents of the district and full pricing for non-residents of the district.
Option 5 - Implement car park charges for the use of all Council Forest and Country Parks with concessions/free passes for persons with a disability and older people.
Cllr Mason’s proposal, when put beside the options offered by council officials, offered a compromise for local residents - that every household across the district would be given a pass to grant free access to council forest parks, while a small nominal charge would remain in place for those travelling from outside the district.
The proposal was accepted over management’s and that is now being actioned at Kilbroney Forest Park and Slieve Gullion.
