8 Comments
Newry, Mourne and Down Council have no intention of building a 15 acre park at the Albert Basin.
There, sadly that's my considered opinion at this present point of time. Now I've got that off my chest do I feel better? No I certainly don't, in fact I feel really angry. Despite a promise in 2017 to build a 15 acre park at the Albert Basin we are no further on in realising that dream.
Being a very positive kind of person I really wanted to believe that everyone from senior management right down to our local Councillors were all singing from the same hymn sheet and working at full tilt towards creating a wonderful park. A park that Newry people could be proud of, a green space that would be the catalyst for so many wonderful things to happen for our city.
Sadly it seems all Council want is their Civic Centre/ Council Offices, and no matter how long I scratch my head I can't see that being a catalyst for anything wonderful in Newry. Yes the Theatre possibly, but Council offices are not going to lead to a renewed love of or interest in Newry, which is what we all need. I'm not saying don't build new offices, I'm saying priorities need to be right, especially in this time of pandemic when green space is infinitely more important than buildings.
What has led me to this analysis? If Council really wanted a Park they would already have it built by now, or at least had a good start made but apart from that there are plenty of other indicators. The latest one came yesterday with the publishing of minutes from Monday's special SP&R meeting which discussed the park. Listening to the audio of the meeting on Monday I had tried to work out exactly what was said by the Chair when she explained the decisions made in the behind closed doors discussion on the park, but audio was intermittent. Realising a misplaced comma in text can entirely change its meaning I contacted Council to send me the correct text but they just referred me back to the published audio. My translation of the audio and possibly other Councillors translation was that they had agreed to complete an outline business case for the park, but as always the devil is in the detail and the only conclusion I can reach after reading the OFFICIAL Council text published yesterday is the only business case mentioned is to appoint an economist .. AN ECONOMIST!
The Minutes re Albert Basin Park (SP&R Meeting Monday 27 Sept)
"To complete a business case to allow for: the appointment of an economist to complete an outline business case (OBC) for the Albert Basin City Park, to identify a preferred option and appoint a consultant team to provide design and cost information to support the completion of the OBC.
Please let me know what you make of the above. What on earth does it mean? It's a head wrecking read - Do a business case to do a business case .. what on earth! All I see is another brazen attempt to delay yet again anything that could possibly mean they would have to actually build a park. If they were intent on doing that surely the text would read "It was agreed to complete an Outline Business Case for the Albert Basin Park"
Four years after Councillors unanimously agreed to build a park at the Albert Basin, nothing has been done. Most tellingly this week Council have agreed a fund of £132.4M for projects including the Civic Centre but to date just £150K has been approved for the park. An attempt on Monday by Councillors Jarlath Tinnelly and Patrick Brown to allocate £10M for the park was voted down by all the other Councillors present.
Newry not ready for a park?
But of course Newry's not ready for this yet, as one Councillor having their 'feeding crocodiles' moment at Monday's SP&R meeting compared putting money towards the park to giving a car to a 5 year old!
We certainly are more than ready for it, a place to rest and relax, a place to catch up with friends, a place to exercise, a place to enjoy nature, a place to celebrate life, a place in Newry to be proud of!
It really is impossible to know where the two main parties are. While some individuals within parties are full supporters of the project the party machines themselves are not so clear cut.
On Monday after this week's meeting Newry.ie got a press release from one of the parties about how wonderful everything was but we decided not to use it as so much of it was totally misleading.
I think some Councillors think the spin generated on Monday night will create the illusion that at last things are moving, but they don't seem to realise the days for spin are long gone and only action will work at this stage. What everyone was waiting for on Monday was at least a morsel of good news, but it never came.
Something signalling intent, possibly money allocated, a Pop Up Park on the site, news that Council were going to demolish the current fire - damaged building on the site or clear it of Council junk, but we are still waiting.
Will that signal of intent come before today's children have children of their own?
What can be done to ensure we get the park we were promised? Let us know what you think!
Columba O'Hare
OPINION
