Martyn Todd, Alliance candidate in the Westminster 2015 election for South Down, has commenred on the naming of the new Newry, Mourne and Down Council which will soon select a new corporate name for April 2015, when it moves from the shadow council to the new super council.
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South Down Alliance Candidate Martyn Todd from Saintfield.[/caption]He said: “All the new councils in Northern Ireland are operating under provisional names, mostly names that incorporate the old council names. Most of them are now working at coming up with a new and permanent name for the new council that will be given full authority and responsibility from May 2015.
“One of the highest priorities for the new councils will be to create one entity out of two, to encourage an overall identity that people can relate to. This also means discouraging old loyalties and feelings of “them” and “us”.
“The new council name will be a very strong signal of how important this priority is for the shadow councillors and senior council officials. A new name that is still two names or one that highlights one of the former councils over another will send a message from the start that the new council will be very much business as usual.
“If the new name can send a signal that the new council is one entity, this will be a very powerful message to all council staff, all residents of the new council area and, perhaps most importantly, to the wider outside world, that the old councils of Newry and Mourne and Down District no longer exist and that the well-being of the whole new area is the guiding principle for all councillors in the new arrangement.
“The area of the new council has some internationally known names and places, names that would encourage inward investment and tourism and unite all residents in a shared pride. I encourage all the councillors to put the long term greater good as their highest priority when deciding on the new name,” xa0added Mr Todd.
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