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Following news of the owners of the Quays Shopping Centre in Newry, UGP Newry Limited, going into administration, People Before Profit Newry and Armagh representative Marc Mac Seáin has pointed to a number of local projects including the proposed Newry Civic Centre, that could be housed within the centre.
He argues that using the existing vacant units would be more cost-effective than constructing new buildings and would help address the ongoing problem of dereliction in Newry city centre. The location for the proposed civic centre behind Newry Cathedral has attracted thousands of objections. Mac Seáin also suggested it could be used for the proposed Health Hub.
Mac Seáin said: "We could step in to use vacant buildings in the Quays for something productive with Newry. It could be used by the council for the costly Civic centre that many locally have objected to, or for medical purposes such as providing a facility for the Southern Trust, maybe even for the Health Hub that was meant to open over 10 years ago but has since completely stalled.
"Such proposals would have the added benefit of bringing further footfall to Quays generally, alongside fighting the blight of dereliction and potentially reducing costs in climbing rates bills which are being lumped onto workers. Government should do everything in its power to fight against the dereliction seen across Newry."
The call comes against a backdrop of significant challenges facing the Quays in filling vacant units, alongside wider concerns throughout the city including derelict former retail properties on O'Hagan Street and Abbey Way.
People Before Profit's position is that public intervention now, rather than allowing the situation to deteriorate further, could deliver multiple benefits for Newry, reducing costs on public projects, supporting businesses already trading in the Quays, attracting new ones, and helping the city avoid the continued spread of dereliction.
