Proposed Council offices car park is 0.7 miles away from planned Council offices!

A Council proposal concerning plans to build new council offices in the city, begs the question - Does Newry have enough car parking or not?

Despite a Newry, Mourne and Down District Council commissioned Transport Assessment deciding in January 2024 that "there is more than sufficient parking capacity within the city centre to accommodate the parking demands of the proposed Hub",  just 3 months later Council have submitted an application for planning permission for an additional car park for council staff working at the proposed Civic Hub/ Council offices.

Free of Charge

The proposed new car park would contain 49 spaces and would be free of charge for the staff. Located close to Newry Leisure Centre it's a full 0.7 miles away from the planned location for the Council Offices!

"An abundance of public parking provision that vastly exceeds demand"

The Transport Assessment was carried out by SYSTRA to accompany the council's ongoing 2023/2024 application for planning permission for their proposed Civic Hub/ Council Offices behind Newry Cathedral. In the assessment, section '4.7 Car Parking' stated "Parking surveys, explored further in Section 4 of this report, have demonstrated that Newry City Centre currently has an abundance of public parking provision that vastly exceeds demand. Fundamentally, there is more than sufficient parking to accommodate the development proposals, both in terms of redeveloping the MSCP and the Hub’s own parking requirements;"

Summing up the results of the survey it adds “The 2023 city centre parking surveys have demonstrated that there is more than sufficient parking capacity within the city centre to accommodate the parking demands of the proposed Hub development, plus that of other city centre committed developments. It is therefore SYSTRA’s professional opinion that no further parking provision is required.” 

Why then just a few months on, Council now see a need for extra parking for the facility is unclear.

The application for the car park was added to the planning portal 16 April 2024 with the proposed facility located at 15 Cecil Street, immediately to the left of the gates at the entrance to Newry Leisure Centre. The site was previously part of the Kearns and Murtagh yard and had a garage and sheds on it, but it was cleared as part of the enabling works for Newry Leisure Centre.

An additional Transport Assessment for the Cecil Street proposal explains that it "will be for the use of council staff working at the proposed Civic Hub located off Abbey Way, Newry (LA07/2019/1736/PAN). All spaces will be free of charge and access will be controlled through a barrier system accessible via a fob."

Shuttle bus

The proposed car park is expected to be in operation in 2025 and Newry.ie understands that the idea of a shuttle bus between the car park and the Council Offices is being considered. Furthermore it is the understanding of Newry.ie that a recent Council meeting discussed converting part of the currently free North Street car park to a 250-300 space paid car park, something that has the potential to impact the Newry business community who currently can park there for free.

Council has been contacted for comment.