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Work affecting trees on the site of a Flood Alleviation Scheme at Greenbank is not ongoing at present according to a reply to questions posed by Newry.ie from a Department for Infrastructure Spokesperson. The pause in the works is to allow them to consider queries recently received.
It follows on from a community campaign that highlighted the presence of 200 year old oak trees in the area and their demand that they were kept.
The DFI Spokesperson said “Works on the Newry Flood Alleviation Scheme Phase 1 project are progressing as programmed and are due to be completed by summer 2022.
"Works affecting the trees within the Greenbank estate to facilitate the construction of this important project which will reduce flood risk to homes and businesses along the Clanrye River in Newry are not ongoing at present. This will allow the Department time to fully consider some queries which have only recently been received to inform the extent of any tree removal."
The Spokesperson added "Two separate expert consultants have identified the need for a flood defence in the Greenbank Industrial Estate and throughout the design process the feasibility of all potential options was assessed. Considerable care has also been taken to limit the number of trees which are to be felled to facilitate the construction of these critical flood defences and areas where trees and shrubs have to be removed to facilitate the works will be reinstated with similar species where possible.”
