Alliance Party representatives oppose £30million+ Newry centre proposals
Downpatrick Alliance Party Councillor Cadogan Enright has welcomed a new consensus emerging around the Alliance Party’s position that major public investment will be needed to upgrade Downpatrick’s town centre.
Councillor Enright said: “With a week to go to the local elections, agreement with the Alliance position seems to have broken out amongst parties represented at the Downpatrick Regeneration Group.
“At our last meeting this month, all parties agrees that Council and the Department of Communities will have to invest substantially to regenerate the town centre.
“This follows the total lack of interest from any private developer in the attempted fire-sale of these properties.”
“This provides our Downpatrick community with the opportunity to work together to achieve a new vision for their Town.
“Improved access and parking, public spaces, community ownership, pedestrian areas from the Old Police Station to the Saint Patricks Centre and from there to ASDA.
“Alliance are the only party to have published our vision for Downpatrick and it can be viewed on our website at:
https://tinyurl.com/AllianceDownpatrick .”
Councillor Enright added: “The land around the old Police Station was acquired as part of the process to implement the Downpatrick Masterplan.
“This started back in 2011 at the request of DfI Roads who wanted to deliver the 2-lane in-town one-way system.
“This was part of plans to revitalise the old town centre by making it more accessible as well dealing with traffic congestion caused by Downpatrick’s medieval streetscape.
“Following the merger between Newry and Mourne and Down Council in 2014, the Downpatrick Masterplan was abandoned.
“DfI roads subsequently announced they could not justify the development of the in-town one-way system based on their resources only.
We were subsequently left with these derelict lands in our historic town centre.
“Given the proposed £30+ million proposed public investment in Newry Town Centre, I had opposed to selling off these lands.
“I have argued for Downpatrick to be a public sector investment project too similar to Newry.
“I was strongly supported in this by Alliance MLA Patrick Brown. Since the Council merger in 2014, Downpatrick has lost out to Newry in everything from street sweeping to major infrastructure priorities.”
South Down MLA Patrick Brown said: “With just 10% of the Council investment proposed for Newry Town Centre, matched by the Department of Communities, we could realise £6 million.
“This could finally deliver the vision for Downpatrick envisaged in the Masterplan.
“Alliance are campaigning in these local elections for a fair deal for Downpatrick.
