Rates Increase Will Help Tackle Cleanliness of District

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council have said that this week's announced rate increase will help tackle the cleanliness of our district, with 6 new street sweeping vehicles and 12 additional street cleansing staff. Funding has also being obtained for 25 solar powered, compacting litter bins.

Council Chairperson Cllr Pete Byrne said "Residents can expect a noticeable improvement in their communities, as these sweepers will be able to access housing developments more easily and tackle issues such as dog fouling more efficiently."

The Chairperson also said that Investment into planning services will allow for the recruitment of additional staff to improve the processing of applications and provide better support to applicants. He added that plans are also in place for Jennings Park in Newry for the grass pitch to be upgraded to a new 3G synthetic pitch to accommodate two soccer pitches and a full sized GAA pitch.  

At the Council meeting on Monday 3 February Councillors agreed to a District Rate of 3.98% for the 2025/2026 financial year. For a property valued at £133,000, this translates to an annual increase of £24.74 or £2.06 per month.

Council Chairperson Pete Byrne added "The District Rate not only pays for the services the Council is responsible for, it also supports the delivery of projects that will transform our communities to bring important benefits and opportunities within our district.

Councillor Oonagh Hanlon, Sinn Féin Group Leader on the Council said “Our Council team have been working diligently with finance officers, Directors and the Chief Executive with many meetings over the past year specifically discussing striking a rate for Newry Mourne and Down Council.

This has concluded with agreement to a District Rate of 3.98% lower than the 4.5 % predicted on the 3 year projections set in 2023. This equates to approximately .47P per week for the average rate payer”.

Her colleague Cllr Declan Murphy in his comments said: “As elected representatives to oversee and scrutinise the financial management of the Council.

“Sinn Féin elected representatives take our responsibility to oversee and scrutinise the financial management of our Council a very seriously. 

"We want to secure a stable financial budget for this district. One which will secure funding for capital projects, and continue to deliver for our communities. 

"We also have agreed an increased budget to implement a cleansing schedule across the district, create more jobs, purchase modern equipment. This will ultimately ensure our towns and villages are maintained to the highest of standards and support the teams who work hard to deliver this service.

"It is imperative that Council continues to move forward with plans to regenerate our towns and city and improve our tourism offerings”.

The Domestic Rate for 2025/2026 will be 0.4862 pence, with the Non-Domestic District Rate set at 30.1884 pence.