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Newry Cathedral Parish have today 23 April delivered over 2,500 signed letters to Newry, Mourne and Down District Council objecting to the proposed council offices at the back of Newry Cathedral. Building of the proposed facility would remove a large portion of car parking spaces behind the historic cathedral.
Commenting on the objection letters a spokesperson from the Newry Cathedral Parish volunteers who helped collect the letters said "We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the huge response to this campaign. In just a few weeks we received over 2,500 letters of objection, which we have passed on to the Council's Planning Department.
"The Council's plans have been plagued by a lack of consultation and engagement from the very start. The ongoing attempt to marginalise and ignore the concerns of local people are offensive not just to the parish, but to the Newry community as a whole"
The spokesperson added "In particular, we are deeply worried about loss of access to the Cathedral by the elderly, disabled and other members of our congregation, and the destructive impact the proposed offices will have on Newry's most important historic building and the surrounding conservation area."
Parish Administrator Canon Francis Brown added “We are merely asking the Council to listen to the practising Catholic population in Newry. They deserve to be given a voice, and their wish is that the Council should locate their new building elsewhere, either on the old Lidl site or in one of the Industrial Estates. These sites would allow workers to have plenty of parking and allow parishioners to park close to the Cathedral."
Canon Brown concluded "The bicentenary of our wonderful Cathedral will be celebrated in 2029. Newry people are asking the Council not to blight its appearance with a wholly inappropriate modern building - surely this is not too much to ask?”
"The Council should listen to the local community and put a halt to this expensive, unpopular and unnecessary project."
