Write a comment
It should come as no surprise that Newry SDLP and Sinn Féin councillors’ efforts to get ahead of the anger and frustrations of the city centre business community and general public to the potential loss of free car parking at North Street and the plan that ratepayers pay for a free car park and shuttle bus service for council staff, disappeared without a whimper into a bureaucratic black hole.
Both parties were quick to come out in recent weeks with press releases pledging to lodge their own Notice of Motion to the council calling for, amongst other things, a car parking strategy (where one already exists), the identification of waste ground and sites owned by the council that could be made available for car parking (where these had already been identified), the retention of existing free car parking spaces in Newry and to review the introduction of one-hour free parking at council parking sites.
As it was, the two parties lodged a joint ‘Car Parking Strategy’ Notion of Motion (see full text below) at Monday night’s Full Council meeting in the names of Cllrs Killian Feehan (SDLP) and Aidan Mathers (Sinn Féin).
There was no debate or discussion on the Motion, neither councillor objected to the Motion not being put before councillors and it has basically been put on the back burner after being referred to the Strategic Finance Working Group, but there is no date set for its next meeting.
After that, the Motion will have to go to the Strategy, Policy and Resources Committee and then a Full Council meeting.
Realistically, it could be October or November before all councillors would have the opportunity to discuss the motion.
No chance
Anyone following the progress through council of the Newry City Centre Regeneration projects over the years, could have told you there was no chance this Notice of Motion was going to be heard.
These projects, particularly the new council offices, which will impact on city centre parking and business, are in essence ‘protected’ with little in the way of accountability, transparency and certainly not openness.
A discussion on the Motion could have led to the council having to reveal its parking plans relating to North Street, the potential costs to ratepayers, the SYSTRA report which was not shared with councillors but concluded there is ample car parking in Newry. This in turn could have led to questions as to why the council has lodged two Newry city centre car park planning applications.
As Newry.ie pointed out in a recent related article, it's also a bit late calling for a “robust communication plan and engagement process with the public” when the council’s own independent review of the regeneration projects, carried out by ASM and agreed to by councillors, called for exactly that in 2021 but was ignored by councillors.
Both councillors were contacted by Newry.ie and asked why their joint Motion was not heard on Monday evening and if they had a statement commenting on the delay, where it puts their calls re free parking, one-hour free parking etc, and the impact the obvious delay could have on Newry city centre businesses?
At the time of publishing neither had responded.
Full Notice of Motion text:
This Council recognises concerns in relation to car parking across the District.
We call, therefore, for a new parking strategy to be developed by Council for NMD District. This strategy should consider and prioritise:
- The provision of adequate levels of car parking for the District.
- The introduction of 1-hour free on-street parking in Newry.
- The retention of existing free car parking spaces in Newry City Centre.
- Review the introduction of 1-hour free parking at Council parking sites.
- The identification and evaluation of waste ground and sites currently owned by Council that could be made available for car parking, park and share/ park and ride.
- Partnership working with government departments to explore the potential for development of bespoke car parking sites, including multi-storey facilities, where viable.
- The review of Seasonal Passes to ensure an affordable offering for local service users.
- A robust communication plan and engagement process with the public, including commuters, retailers, and business owners.
