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A new Newry campaign group is set to seek candidates to run in the upcoming local elections as it targets greater transparency of the council.
The Newry People’s Forum, which first formed in early October has now published a report on its aims to improve the city.
The collective of local businesses and stakeholders will take the next step to generate a road map to carry major investment aims, with a public meeting to be held later this week.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service forum chairperson Brian Cleland said: ”We were very pleased with the turnout on the first public meeting and there were a number of themes that came very through very strongly in the discussions.
“There were key things like transparency and accountability particularly around the council, a want for more festivals, and events in Newry, how we regenerate the city centre and dealing with things like rates and parking.
”One of the things we also got in the night was that people are very keen to get engaged and involved and be active in this initiative.
“So, the plan for Thursday night is that we bring those people back into the room and we say, ok, we’re going to split up into working groups and focus on what we can achieve together.”
Transparency issues have previously been reported by the LDRS at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
A recent strategy, policy and resources committee saw the chamber closed off to the public and the media on all items for discussion, a matter Newry, People’s Forum want to bring to the fore.
Brian added: “The working group is going to have a particular theme and then we’re going to identify actions around achieving those and that includes transparency at council level.
“We will also be looking at possibly running an independent candidate or candidates in the upcoming elections and perhaps organise a hustings around that.”
Many of the campaigners involved in the new forum stem from the ‘Newry 2020’ group formed in 2014, which was a key movement behind the development of the city’s £18m public park.
The Albert Basin park in the city centre is due to complete in 2028.
The tangible results of the seasoned campaigners has given the new group “huge support” as it looks to build an investment future for the city.
Brian said: “We want to give people the opportunity to get involved and start things moving and start getting things changed for the better.
“At the next public meeting, we’ll have a discussion about what we’re going to do over the next three to six months and maybe after that as well.
“We’ve had responses from local elective representatives and we’ll be putting those up on social media soon.
“We’ve also had a number of local groups who’ve reached out and said they wanted to be involved and we’ve had a huge response on social media.
“A lot of people have said how excited they are about this initiative and how keen they are to get involved.
“So it looks like we’ve really struck a chord here and I think the momentum will continue to grow.”
The Newry People’s Forum will hold its next public meeting on Thursday 29 October at 7.30pm in the Canal Court, Miller Suite.
