Somme Society condemns removal of plaques by Housing Executive with PSNI support
Two murals were taken down from the West Winds estate in Newtownards on Thursday morning.
One was a plaque commemorating the Battle of the Somme.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive said the removal was part of an initiative at 'improving the image' of the estate and said additional plaques were placed 'without permission'.
In a new statement, the 1st Newtownards Somme Society has condemned the removal of the commemorative plaque and other materials, claiming they were the 'lawful property' of the group.
'This morning a range of lawful materials including but not limited to a plaque commemorating the battle of the Somme in 1916, which are the property of the 1st Newtownards Somme Society, were removed by masked contractors instructed by NIHE, with PSNI playing a merely supporting rather than active role,' the Society said in a statement.
'The tearing down of these lawful memorial plaques raises fundamental issues and has caused significant tension and anger in the local community,' it added.
'There was no community support for these actions.
'It is obvious the NIHE has taken an extraordinarily irresponsible step, and in doing so has placed itself in a position whereby this seemingly new policy- whatever it is- will now have to be equally applied in, for example, south Armagh, west Belfast and east Tyrone.
"What begins with removing plaques commemorating the brave men of the Somme leads inevitably to tearing down union flags and/or other memorials."
News Catch Up - Thursday 22 May
A loyalist delegation is due to meet with the Housing Executive at its Newtownards offices on Friday afternoon, with the Society saying the return of the items 'must' happen urgently.
The Belfast Telegraph understands the plaques were removed by masked contractors acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, with support from the PSNI.
'Local officers were in attendance to support the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to remove two murals within the West Winds Housing Estate this morning, Thursday 22nd May,' confirmed a PSNI spokesperson.
A Housing Executive spokesperson said: 'A new, community-led initiative improving the image of the West Winds estate in Newtownards is underway, with support from the Housing Executive.
'This involves the re-imaging of a number of paramilitary murals which have been replaced by local historical imagery and artwork reflecting the strong heritage and aspirations of those living in the area.
'Additional plaques were placed on our properties without permission, which were not part of the display installed by the community.
'These have been removed and we will continue to engage locally to provide a positive outlook for our tenants in this area.'
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