Confirmation that the City Deal Funding is secured for Newry and Mourne welcomed by Newry Chamber of Commerce
After several days of an agonising wait, Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade has welcomed the confirmation that City Deal funding for the city and district has been secured despite fears it may have fallen victim to recent government cuts.
The Chamber President Edwina Flynn was speaking after a meeting with Newry Mourne and Down District Council Chief Executive Marie Ward and Director of Economic Development, Conor Mallon on Monday afternoon.
Edwina Flynn said: “The Chamber met with Council Senior Management and have been assured that the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) funding for the Newry, Mourne and Down projects has been secured.
“When the announcement was made by the UK Government on Friday evening the Chamber sought immediate clarification given that we were aware that the BRCD was already at an advanced stage with contracts awarded and ‘pausing’ it did not make economic sense.
“Thankfully, we have received clarity and the deals that underpin the economic regeneration of our city and wider district continue at pace.
“What did come from the UK Government’s poor handling of this issue is a stark sense of how much this city and district could have lost.
“We are due to receive over £200 million of the £1 billion BRCD funding and if this had been lost then our city’s transformational projects including Newry City Park could have been significantly stalled or jeopardised.
“We have written to the Secretary of State and will meet with him soon to express our disappointment at how this was handled and we will work to ensure any short-term damage in investor confidence is repaired.
“Newry Chamber now firmly believes that we need to get on with delivering all the regeneration schemes across the city and district including the vital Southern Relief Road and the Council-backed Newry Regeneration Schemes.
“It is abundantly clear that money is scarce in the UK Treasury and will be for some years to come, so it is imperative that we get on with maximising the opportunity that has been presented to Greater Newry and transform our city.”
