Reassurances have been sought that the remaining jetties at Kinnego Marina will be able to withstand the forthcoming winter and stormy weather.
And, at the same time, Sinn Fein Councillor Catherine Nelson has also called for greater communication with the Lough Neagh Sailing Club, which operates out of the area.
The councillor raised several issues to which she sought answers and asked for officers to report back.
Speaking at the October meeting of ABC Council, Councillor Nelson said they were aware that jetties had been declared unsafe.
“A number of them are currently closed and I’m thankful for that,” she said. “A small number of the jetties do remain open and are bearing significant weight.”
Councillor Nelson paid tribute to the Lough Neagh Sailing Club, describing them as “great advocates for the marina”, but advised members that they were “concerned about the current jetties withstanding the winter”.
She asked that council officers “confirm or reassure as much as is possible, given that we can’t totally control Mother Nature, that we have convinced ourselves that they can withstand the current weight, including during some storms”.
Councillor Nelson also raised the issue of weeds and communicating updates directly with the sailing club.
“I understand that the issue of weeds and the lough is problematic,” she added. “We can’t cut them all. We wouldn’t want to for environmental reasons as well.
“The sailing club is just concerned that whilst this work has been told to me that it was done, it was never actually confirmed with them. What they’re saying just again is around the communication that I have been raising.
“They’ve also asked me to ask that we do forward plan for next year so that the weed cutting doesn’t take place mid-season and is something that’s done as early as possible.”
Councillor Nelson said there needed to be an improvement in communicating with the sailing club, adding: “Emails back and forth is probably not the best way to build a relationship here. Tone can be misconstrued and all of those things and even just some of the language being ambiguous.
“I know that’s because of confidentiality, but I just think that we need to look at meeting them, phone calls, and just trying to really build a relationship there so that they do feel that they’re being kept abreast of the current developments or reason why things are stalling.”
Director of environmental services and sustainability Jonathan Hayes assured that he would take all comments on board and report back.
