Write a commentCouncillors have agreed to re-evaluate a Consultants Report due in September on the proposed Newry Civic Centre with recommendations from the report to be put to a Public Consultation on the project.
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An original motion put before last weeks Strategy, Policy and Resources Committee meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down Council had called for the postponement of the civic centre project for the remainder of the council term, but Councillor Gavin Malone who proposed the motion agreed to an amendment put forward by Councillor Michael Savage and seconded by Cllr Patrick Brown which stated that until a Public Consultation is held the project can't submit a planning application.
In a meeting that was at times confusing, the first vote taken was a vote to agree that councillors could adjourn for ten minutes to discuss the amendment after Cllr Patrick Brown objected to an adjournment proposal. The break was agreed on and afterwards following lengthy discussion from many councillors and a report read from council officer Conor Mallon the amended motion was voted on and passed with 9 for and 6 against.
Amended Motion
Cllr Savage's amended motion read "The Council recognises that society has changed fundamentally since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic and acknowledges the economic challenges our citizens, businesses and ratepayers face in the coming months and years and recognises the need for Council to re-evaluate our capital expenditure priorities. This Council agrees to await the Consultants’ Report on the proposed Newry Civic Centre which is to be presented to Council in September 2020; agrees not to go to tender or submit a planning application on this scheme until this report is re-evaluated by Council and the recommendations of that re-evaluation are put to an extensive public consultation."
Need to Re-evaluate
Cllr Savage speaking about his amendment said "I fully understand the rationale from Cllr Malone in bringing this motion forward to council on the basis that he like I is a Newry councillor and I have been hearing the same concerns voiced to me in relation to a scheme of this scale in the times we are in, in a Covid-19 world. I think a lot of people, a lot of organisations including ourselves need to re-evaluate how we as an organisation and others operate during this very difficult pandemic.
"We don't have anything tangible in front of us to evaluate or to postpone in that we are awaiting the outworking of the Consultants report which is due to come to us in September 2020. The council has an obligation legally I believe and financially and contractually in relation to that and we have paid several hundred thousand pounds to get that Consultants report and I don't think any of our ratepayers would consider us to be anything other than not being prudent if we didn't see that through"
Continuing Cllr Savage said "This is a very very serious decision we are making in council and we need to talk it through. The SDLP's priorities are very much centred around a new park in Newry. We have been at the forefront of promoting a park in Newry since it was first mooted in the city and we want to see a park in the city because we believe the city needs to have a pair of lungs and the park will serve that need. But we are also aware for the need to attract inward investment and expand our city. We support as well the conference centre facility and the fact that it's coming on the back of the city deal"
"We need to look long and hard at tangible proposals and we don't have those at the minute and that's why chair I'm proposing that we wait until such times as the Consultants report on the civic centre is presented to us as councillors. We go through that, take it to the project board, take it through the normal strands that are there to assess it. Decisions can be made then based on having something to look at and assess, based on size, based on scale and expenditure and most importantly based on need. I think there is merits on re-evaluating because we are no 100% sure on what that need is going forward, because Covid-19 has spread one thing other than a virus, it has spread uncertainty and I believe we need to reassess our needs going forward before we spend millions of pounds on a new building."
Conor Mallon, Director of Enterprise Regeneration and Tourism then discussed a report entitled Newry City Centre Regeneration - Notice of Motion recommending that the committee approve the continuation of work on the Newry City Regeneration Programme (of which the Civic Centre is part)
Making a Hub out of Newry
Cllr Barra O'Muiri explained how Sinn Féin were not happy to accept the amendment "We think it's a bit wavery, especially some of the commentary that Cllr Savage put on it. It sounded like we're for it, we're against it, we're for it we're against it. We have no problem letting it go to the planning, letting it go through the systems that it's supposed to go through, let it go to planning, the public consultation will take place during the run through planning. It's estimated that there is already half a million pound spent on this. There's the Belfast City Deal money that was committed to this. It's not something that was dreamed up over night.
"I know that Cllr Malone wasn't a councillor when it was discussed at length in 2015 whenever the two councils merged together and Downpatrick had their beautiful and new civic centre that they had prepared for in the years previous to the RPA where Newry was left with Monaghan Row which wasn't fit for purpose. It was because of that exactly that all the parties at the time came together and put out suggestions and made plans and included as a main priority in the Corporate Plan for 2015 - 19 a new Civic Centre in Newry and it was greeted with great excitement by all parties at the time. It was seen as it was going to be a massive investment in Newry City Centre but it was going to be to the benefit of the people of South Armagh, the people of South Down, the people of Newry. It was going to create employment, it was going to make a hub out of Newry, the Theatre was going to get a massive boost"
Need to Know Breakdown of Funding
Cllr William Walker said he did support the original motion also but added "I do support the amendment from Cllr Savage because a lot of money has gone into this in relation to consultants and that. We have been told that the consultants report will be coming forward in September and I think once we get the report that's when we should be taking the decision. There's other things that we need to know here. For example it was mentioned there was a cocktail of funding, Belfast City Deal, council's putting money in. I think we need to know the breakdown of funding, how much council's putting in, how much Belfast City Deal's putting in and if there's any other cocktails of funding, so as we are aware to what exactly council's putting in because I am concerned in relation to this. When this originally come to council a number of years ago our party was opposed to a new civic centre in Newry at the time because we said we had a state of the art one in Downpatrick and the reason we had one in Downpatrick is that the old Down Council had the foresight and forward thinking to build a new civic centre before the amalgamation, that's why we have it."
Cllr Walker concluded "People are saying to me, even people in the county town Downpatrick are saying, everything seems to be going to Newry. You have the big leisure facility, yes we have a leisure facility in Downpatrick, but they are getting the Albert Basin town park, they're getting this, they're getting that. What are we getting in the county town - We're getting nothing. I'm not saying that this civic centre shouldn't proceed. I will be voting on the motion and when it comes forward to the appropriate committee I will be saying it should be stalled in this economic climate. What's our rates going to be next year. It's going to go sky high and through the roof. And then you're going to have people outside Newry, and by the looks of it even people within the city of Newry squealing from the rooftops in relation to this civic centre. I'm not saying that we don't build a civic centre . What I will be voting on when it comes to voting will be that we stall it, we delay it, in these economic times."
Importance of Consulting the Public
Cllr Patrick Brown said "I do think the council have been slow learners on this, particularly with regard to the amendments and the need for a public consultation. We had this discussion back in the council meeting in September and indeed Cllr Walker was one of those who called for a Public Consultation and to engage with stakeholders at that time. Cllr Savage as well. I went back to look at the minutes and talked about the need to bring businesses in the community along and make sure they are engaged every step of the way. I want to ask how has that plan been advanced since that discussion, almost a year ago. We were told that a lot of meetings would take place with stakeholders and yet I've seen no detail on that so far from the management team yet clearly the project has been advanced to a significant stage. We have seen the bills and costs that have been racked up and yet we haven't seen any details of those consultations that we agreed to, were told would move forward in September last year, and indeed a proposal by myself and Cllr Tinnelly to hold off on progressing on choosing a site for this was actually voted against by the vast majority of councillors at that time, but I do think and hope that through this motion the council realises the importance of consulting the public on how we are going to potentially spend as much as £30M of their money. And that's an amount that would represent almost half of the entire capital budget for the rest of this term. That's money I believe would be better spent on parks, on green spaces and investing directly in those who need it most to recover from the impact of Covid."
Commenting on the officers report Cllr Patrick Brown said "I'd like to ask, did the officer consult with the proposer of the motion before bringing this report alongside the motion? I'd like him or any of the senior management team to outline the precedent for officers bringing reports without consulting with proposers of motions. If indeed he did not consult with Cllr Malone."
Cllr Brown added "I'd also like officers to clarify the decision making process for which motions should have reports carried out before a debate and which should not. How are officers making these decisions and surely that should be applied consistently.I ask because I'm not sure it has ever happened that an officer has brought an options paper to the members motion which recommends only one option, which is item 3.1 on the agenda, which is in fact advising councillors to vote against the Councillors original motion, and I find that really really concerning. Does senior management not feel that taking a stance on a motion presented by a democratically elected member is contrary to good governance and transparency especially given comments by several of the senior management team at recent Efficiency Working Group meetings that, and I quote, The decision is up to elected members, not officers. Therefore if we vote to proceed or not to proceed so be it. And that is what an officer said at a recent meeting. It is up to us as a council, as an executive body to make this decision. But not only that. They are also attaching lobbying letters from civic society to try and persuade councillors into taking a particular stance on this issue. Is there no fear from councillors or management that this sets an incredibly worrying precedent and represents a huge democratic deficit. Not only has the motion been put on the long finger for two months, because it was originally proposed at the June meeting I believe or start of July. It has been sent to a committee where the proposer can't even vote on it, all whilst work on the project has continued despite me pointing out at the July meeting that it would be wrong to do so."
Giving Councillors Clear Recommendations
In reply to Cllr Brown's questions Newry, Mourne and Down Council CEO said Marie Ward "The first thing I would like to clarify to members is that we do put papers to motions and notice of motions and Cllr Brown included will know that from previous committees. I only picked it up yesterday that there was no papers for the notice of motion at the ERT committee, that was an oversight on my part and on the directors part, I do apologise for that but you will find that there are notices of motion and papers attached to them.
"Council officers are tasked with giving councillors clear recommendations to council. There's no democratic deficit. It's for the council to make a decision based on our recommendations. You can choose as a council official or as a council member to accept our recommendations or not to accept our recommendations.
Speaking about public engagement Ms Ward said "It's important to highlight there are financial implications to any decision as the original notice of motion stood. What I would also say to members is that Conor will address the stakeholder but I'd like to just say as well. There has been extensive public engagement on this and people referred to what Newry want. I think it's important to highlight that there was an extensive piece of consultation carried out when the Newry City Centre Masterplan was developed a number of years ago with DFC and that was a major piece of work. The Civic Centre is a business decision as well for council. The location of it will be dealt with, and has been dealt with from a business perspective and through public engagement and will indeed again be dealt with through the planning approval process where there will be consultation on that as well.
Concluding the Council CEO added "It's fully within the councils right to make the decisions to stop the project in totality. We've given you the financial understanding behind that. We are suggesting that we take it to the point that we have committed investment to this point, which is getting it to the point of getting it ready for planning permission and tender and then we give due consideration the the financial commitment at that point and I wouldn't recommend anything more than that at this point as an officer or the chief financial officer for the organisation."
Extensive Stakeholder Engagement
Conor Mallon, Director of Enterprise, Regeneration and Tourism also replying to Cllr Brown's questions said "There has been extensive stakeholder engagement throughout this project. I'm happy to produce the schedule of the stakeholder engagements that's taken place and share that with members for their information.
"With regards to the notice of motion - Following on from Marie's explanation - total oversight on my part and I put my hand up to that and apologise to the members for that, but going forward from now there will be reports from officers appended to notices of motions at ERT Committee."
Austerity Didn't Work
Cllr Declan Murphy said "I would be opposed to the amendments. I find it very confusing. The explanation for the amendment is like somebody trying to hedge his bets therefore I am totally opposed to it. I'm actually surprised. Billy Walker has said it, that there's going to be economic hardships, however throughout the world people are finding a different way to address those hardship. Austerity didn't work. Cutting back on projects as part of austerity in the past under George Osbourne and his counterparts in the south of Ireland. It certainly did not work. They are now accepting that it didn't work. Take a look at what they are doing in other European states . The European Central Bank is now giving our almost £400BN in grants and just over £300BN in loans to stimulate economies. That means that people rather than cutting back on public services, rather than putting people out of jobs, they're going to start more work on infrastructure, creating jobs and trying to stimulate the economy out of the recession that we are in now. Sinn Féin have stated as far back as 2008/ 2010 that austerity does not work. Cutting back on capital projects. That's going to have an impact on what could have been a boost to the local economy in Newry and I can't understand, people talk about there are some business people in Newry aren't too happy with this. Well what percentage? Who has done the survey? I haven't seen any results, I haven't seen any findings. I'm speaking to business people in Newry and speaking to people on the ground. All they want and what is happening at the minute is money being pumped into both the Assembly and money then coming down to local Government. That's the way that we should be addressing the recession we are facing at the minute. The road to economic recovery isn't by cutting projects"
Continuing Cllr Murphy said "The other thing that concerns me, it's been mentioned by a few councillor colleagues, this project that project, it's almost like fighting over the scraps at the table. This is something that has already been agreed by many councillors that is needed for the district. If you take a look at Belfast City Council and how they have got their act together in drawing down funding. Their council is a powerhouse. You take a look at Louth County Council with the economic forum and how they have attracted in investment. FDI all kind of investment into regeneration and that's the road, the path that they are taking at the minute, and then you come to us and people are proposing austere measures. I'm totally opposed to anybody cutting back on capital projects. What we should be doing is trying to seek more funding, going to make ourselves a more attractive landing pad for investors and for funders. I could be wrong on this but to the best of my knowledge £8M has come from the City Deal for this particular project so how does it look to potential investors when they see the council firing back £8M, cutting projects, cutting jobs. Explain that to the people of Newry, particularly the building industry."
Resources Spent Cannot Be Wasted
Cllr Willie Clarke added "Speaking as group leader of Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin are opposed to the amendment. We are also opposed to the motion ... I think what the public needs to understand is that the resources that have been spent can not be wasted. We have invested near half a million pound of ratepayers money in this process. Sinn Féin are happy to continue with the process towards planning permission.
"I agree that we take into account due diligence, transparency and accountability during the whole process but the planning permission will give us that. There will be a full consultation in regards to the planning application so the public will have their opportunity and all elected reps and all stakeholders will have the opportunity to have their say in regards to it. To slow it up is a dangerous message to send out there, and Councillor Murphy touched on it. Investors will see a knee jerk reaction coming from council which will scare them and they will move elsewhere. Investors want to see income in return for their investment so if they can get somewhere else that is willing to do it, and the city deal has a number of projects, they'll just go to them. The council needs to be very wary of what they are doing here. Infrastructure, investment is essential to regenerate our economy. The construction industry will need a major boost but also the small retailers in Newry who will get the boost from building supplies, architects and designers. That will be a major boost. Cafes and restaurants will boost from that as well. Members need to be very wary of what they are doing here at the minute"
Concluding Cllr Clarke said "The old quote is The rising tide lifts all ships so if we grow the base in Newry, the rates base, that's going to have a benefit for the district right across. We are talking about hotel development, we are talking about office space accommodation, we're taking about decentralising of jobs from East Belfast.
"The investment in our district will be massive coming out of this. We're talking about the hotel, we are talking about office space, we are talking about development of that area, around the Arts, the theatre. That will be a massive investment for Newry, a game changer for Newry. We are also talking about transportation, connectivity, getting people about the city in a new way, a green way. Public transport and cycling and walking and having public realm, in greening Newry City. These are all the issues that are in jeopardy if we endanger this project moving forward. We can't ride two horses. We either go with the planning application or we don't moving forward."
Difficult Challenges
Cllr David Taylor said "I'm not going to pretend that I had a few concerns about the original motion. Just though maybe it was a bit blunt and it something I am conscious we have been working hard on in terms of money invested in this project and it's something I have bee committed to over the period of time it has been suggested.
"The reality is we do face difficult challenges ahead and we have said that we will be looking at our ability to deliver projects over this time. I think in doing that we have to give every project the same respect, the same scrutiny. It would be unfair to not do that. I've had a discussion with my colleagues over the break, we didn't see the amendment before this meeting tonight. I can't vote on that but certainly my colleagues do feel they can support the amendment, that it gives the council as a body a bit more time to look at the consultants report and what's included in that and it give a further opportunity for more scrutiny moving forward. I want to see the project delivered. I'm not sure it can be delivered in the timeframe that has been outline previously. Given the issues that we have as a corporate body financially, given the challenges caused by Covid -19. I also understand some of the issues that have been raised, that you can't do nothing, that can't be expected either because we have to serve as economic generators as well. I have my own family involved in the construction industry and they see these type of projects as a benefit and I see the benefit of it."
Following the extensive discussion by councillors and officials the amended motion was put to the floor passing with 9 for and 6 against.
Supporting the motion were Councillors Patrick Brown, Pete Byrne, Cadogan Enright, Hugh Gallagher, Alan Lewis, Harold McKee, Michael Savage, Gareth Sharvin, William Walker. Voting against were Sean Doran, Oonagh Hanlon, Oonagh Maginnis, Declan Murphy, Roisin Howell and Barra O'Muiri.
