Newcastle Sinn Féin Councillor Willie Clarke, chairperson of the Newry Mourne and Down shadow Council Development committee, has welcomed the decision of the committee to support the carrying out of street cleansing trials in Newcastle and Newry, using existing mechanical street sweepers, with power wash capabilities and small pavement mounted hybrid water sweepers.
Cllr Clarke said: “The small pavement sweepers have been utilised in Newry centre on a daily basis. This process provides a continual scrubbing effect to remove debris and staining from surfaces caused by food, beverage, dog fouling, preventing the discolouration being engrained in the pavement surface .
“This approach will be tested to evaluate the potential of using it in our town centres, across the new Council area. I firmly believe, this will be extremely beneficial to the aesthetic appearance of towns in Down.
“Local traders, residents and visitors have continually highlighted the need to improve the cleansing schedule of granite pavements in Newcastle, particularly during the summer months, when they can become unsightly and sticky if not regularly cleansed.”
“If these upcoming cleansing trials prove to be successful, they will be rolled out across the new Newry, Mourne and Downe council area. This in-house cleansing will also be supported by bi-annual deep cleaning power washing of key areas in commercial town/ city centres.”
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