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In his second visit to Newry in less than a month Shadow Secretary of State for NI Hilary Benn met with representatives from Council, Newry BID, Newry Chamber, Newry and Mourne Co-operative and Enterprise Agency, the political arena as well a business representatives who were affected by the recent flooding in Sugar Island.
The meeting took place in The Bank Bar and afterwards Mr Benn made a visit to check out the new Pat Jennings statue in front of Newry Town Hall.
Me Benn heard at first hand the concerns and immediate needs of the Newry business sector following the flooding of their premises in Newry at Halloween. One take away from his visit today was the need for a flood warning system. Mr Benn commented "There needs to be a flood warning system in Northern Ireland. As one owner said 'If I'd known, I could have saved some of my stock.' "
Also on his itinerary were visits to Downpatrick and Flurrybridge Enterprise Park. At Flurrybridge Mr Benn commented that business owners are determined to recover but would like to know what further help might be available and when it might arrive.
To date apart from funding of £7,500 and rates relief, little else is available for local businesses, many of whom still have not been able to reopen their premises. As well as losses of hundreds of thousands business owners have the extra expense of having to continue to pay staff with no income coming in.
