A senior Newry priest has called on the council’s CEO to “publicly retract the false statements” made over the development of a new local authority civic centre.
Canon Francis Brown told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) this week that he now intends to seek legal advice over a perceived “religious discrimination” by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) on the matter.
Currently, Newry Cathedral Parish and the council are at loggerheads over plans to build a new £20m civic centre on a carpark at Abbey Way used by Mass-goers. A petition with over 2,500 objections to the plan was recently handed in by the Church.
During a recent Q&A session (July 31) with Newry Chamber of Commerce and Trade, chief executive of NMDDC Marie Ward stated there had been a “misconception that we haven’t been engaging with, for example the Church. We have listened and changed our designs”.
Audio comments of the meeting were leaked and verified by the LDRS, with local press previously publishing the CEO’s comments.
She added: “I want to say here today, because I have heard it said, and I heard it second hand, I wasn’t there, but I’ve heard that it was said from the altar in the Cathedral that… we have said that people would have to walk from Newry Leisure Centre to go to Mass.
“That was not said, that’s not the case, there will be plenty of parking for going to Mass.”
However, Newry Cathedral administrator, Canon Francis Brown has “strongly refuted” the comments, saying that NMDDC chief is being “misleading” as the council has had no direct contact with the parish for three years.
He said: “On behalf of the parishioners of Newry Cathedral Parish, I strongly refute recent statements made by the CEO of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council regarding engagement over concerns related to the new civic centre.
“In a recent meeting, the council CEO made a number of misleading claims that demand immediate correction.
“Firstly, contrary to the CEO’s assertion that the council has been engaging with the Church, there has been no direct communication with the parish authorities in over three years.
“The Church has made multiple requests for face-to-face meetings to discuss the impact of the proposed civic centre, all of which have been ignored.”
NMDDC has previously referred to a parking survey of the Abbey Way site and has amended its HQ plans to provide 138 car park spaces at the site, it says is above the maximum occupancy rates recorded for Mass-goers.
Other key car parking plans around the new civic centre involve the leasing of the 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.
There is also a further plan to develop council staff parking at Newry Leisure Centre on Cecil Street about 1km away from the new civic centre and Newry Cathedral.
The Canon added: “Secondly, the CEO falsely claimed that it was never suggested that parishioners would have to walk from Newry Leisure Centre to attend Mass.
“This claim is incorrect. A NMDDC representative explicitly stated to myself and a parish finance committee member that parishioners could walk from the swimming pool car park, a suggestion that was immediately rejected due to the distance and the elderly demographic of many parishioners.
“I am calling on NMDDC chief executive to publicly retract the false statements recently reported in the press, and to issue a formal apology for misrepresenting the Church’s position. I am also calling on the council to commit to genuine, transparent engagement to address parishioners’ concerns related to the proposed civic centre development.
“The parish is currently seeking legal advice on these matters, given the seriousness of the misrepresentations and the pattern of exclusion that some parishioners view as religious discrimination.”
The LDRS contacted NMDDC for comment, but at the time of going to print the local authority had not responded.
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