Latest news with #NMDDC
Belfast Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Council's controversial £17m plan for new Newry HQ voted through by fewer than half of planning committee members
Downpatrick Alliance councillor Cadogan Enright walked out of the meeting following legal advice provided in confidential session away from public view saying: 'I urge you all to do the same.' Out of the 12 councillors on the committee, only six turned up for the noon decision. When put to a vote four members (three Sinn Fein and one SDLP) voted in favour of the application, one was against (DUP) and one abstained (SDLP). Proposing the recommendation, Slieve Gullion councillor Declan Murphy said: 'We've heard the arguments for and against this quite a number of times, so whatever decision we make it is based on a lot of scrutiny and means our decision will be robust. 'I am satisfied that the recommendation by the planners for approval and we should accept that recommendation. 'There will be concerns – whether they be from Protestant, Catholic or Dissenter – they all have to be taken into consideration, and I think from the evidence put forward that has been done.' The proposal was seconded by Newry Sinn Fein councillor Cathal King with Mournes DUP councillor Glyn Hanna calling for a recorded vote. The application first lodged in 2019 is set to be the new headquarters for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) and its 215 staff. However, there will only be 162 desks provided as the council has alluded to its 'hybrid working conditions' for employees. The Newry city civic centre has been dogged by controversy with more than 2,500 parishioners at the nearby Cathedral signing a petition opposing the building amid claims it will leave them no where to park during Mass. NMDDC has previously referred to a 2023 parking survey of the Abbey Way site and has amended its HQ plans to provide 138 car park spaces at the site, which it says is above the maximum occupancy rates of mass-goers recorded. A predetermination hearing had been held earlier in the morning from 10am to listen to the final arguments from all parties concerned. A council officer presenting the recommendation told the chamber, 'the case officer's report details and considers all the issues'. In concluding comments, both the applicant, NMDDC, and the objectors, Newry Parish Cathedral, continued to call out each other's view of facts and opinions on the processes carried out on the long running application.
Belfast Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
£30m towards Mournes gondola could be lost as plans ‘start from scratch'
And it now appears that a council plan to move the so-called gondolas from Newcastle to Rostrevor may have to 'start from scratch' despite claims councillors were told the project would only need to be 'modified'. Tourism NI is a key stakeholder in the £44m Gateway Project, with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) scrambling to hold onto £30m in Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) money after the plan to site the gondola in Newcastle was scrapped. The council revealed in May it is working to relocate the Mourne Mountain Gateway project on the other side of the Mournes in the village of Rostrevor. The move came after landowners the National Trust withdrew co-operation from the Newcastle project. The council is understood to be keen to retain the BRCD money by ensuring the project goes ahead, albeit in another location. But concerns have now been raised that the planned relocation may not be straightforward. A spokesperson for Tourism NI said: 'Tourism NI is not in receipt of an alternative proposal to the Mourne Mountain Gateway Project (MMGP) at this time. 'Newry Mourne and Down District Council is aware that any alternative proposal to the Mourne Mountain Gateway project will be considered a new project and will require a new outline business case (OBC) to be submitted as part of the City and Growth Deals process.' Tourism NI's role is that of Investment Decision Maker (IDM) on behalf of the Department for the Economy (DfE) for tourism proposals within the City and Growth Deals Programme. The council is relying on keeping £30m from the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) which was awarded to the Mourne Gateway project. However, landowners the National Trust pulled out of the project in May over environmental concerns — leaving the local authority organising emergency meetings to present a new proposal to BRCD to retain the cash. NMDDC was asked whether it had outlined a new business case to its stakeholders for the Rostrevor plan at Kilbroney park. A spokesperson said: 'Newry, Mourne and Down District Council issued a statement on 28 May to the media in relation to this matter, we continue to work through the details with our partners and are not in position to provide any further comment at this time.' However, it has now been alleged that the local authority had advised NMDDC councillors that the Kilbroney proposal could be partly transferred from the Mourne Gateway project. Mournes Alliance councillor Jill Truesdale said: 'At every point in the progression of this project Alliance has been calling for more openness and transparency. 'That we're seeing such issues persist even at this point is not reassuring.'
Belfast Telegraph
04-06-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Environmental report which may have caused collapse of Mourne gondola project was hidden from public
An environmental report which potentially led to the collapse of the Mourne Gateway cable car project was the subject of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) has finally confirmed the confidential status of the report to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) a month after a media query.
Belfast Telegraph
03-06-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
National Trust had ‘significant' concerns about £44m Mournes cable car project after seeing environmental report being hidden from public by council using NDAs
An environmental report which potentially led to the collapse of the Mourne Gateway cable car project was the subject of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) has finally confirmed the confidential status of the report to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) a month after a media query.
