Newry priest labels council 'forum' proposal a 'distraction' as city centre plans row continues

Donal McMahon

16 May 2024 at 4:35 pm·3-min read

A Newry priest has rejected a council proposal to sit on an engagement forum as a "distraction".

Canon Francis Brown dismissed the local authority offer, after Newry Cathedral was excluded from a stakeholder group involved in the £43m reimagining of the city centre.

The parish administrator has further accused Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) of ignoring his parishoners after failing to engage with the Church on its concerns.

NMDDC is understood to have invited all the original participants of the Newry City Centre Regeneration (NCCR) to the first meeting of the new Newry Regeneration Working Group (NRWG), apart from the parish.

A statement from the local authority this week, under the NRWG banner has instead invited the Cathedral to a "Stakeholder Engagement Forum established to facilitate engagement with key stakeholders on the theatre and conference centre and civic and regional hub projects".

NMDDC and the Cathedral Parish have been in a public dispute over plans to build a new £20m civic centre on a carpark used by Mass-goers. A petition with over 2,500 objections to the plan was recently handed in by the Church.
The council statement also says: "At the first NRWG meeting on in Newry, members received updates on the Newry City Centre Regeneration (NCCR) theatre and conference centre and civic and regional hub projects.
"They were informed both were progressing to the final stages of the planning application process in parallel with the procurement of the contractors for the delivery of the works. It is anticipated that contracts will be awarded in the autumn with work commencing on site soon after."
However, in response Canon Brown said: "The statement from the council does not explain why the Cathedral Parish was excluded from the new working group, or how that decision was taken.
"Any talk of a Stakeholder Forum is a distraction from the real question, which is why the parish is not being treated on an equal footing with other working group members. To date, we have not been contacted by the council about our concerns."
The council plans to build its new headquarters at Abbey Way in the centre of Newry, but the site currently provides off street parking including a multi-storey car park that the Catholic Church says is needed for Mass-goers at its Grade A listed building.
The local authority claims that its new designs will provide more spaces for parishioners following an engineer’s survey of the car-park.
The council has also revealed it has been engaging with the Department for Communities (DfC) to lease nearby lands at North Street, 150 yards away, to potentially develop a major pay and park facility. The site is currently a free parking zone used by city centre business employees.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted NMDDC for details on why the Cathedral Parish was excluded from the new working group. No response has been made to this effect.

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