A council is to review its £17m spending on a new Newry civic centre after a heated lengthy debate in chambers.
Alliance members put forward a motion on Thursday night’s (May 16) strategy, policy and resources committee, to look at alternative “plan B” sites with the DUP sharing some “financial and infrastructure concerns”.
However, SDLP and Sinn Fein maintained support for the Abbey Way site as well as UUP councillor David Taylor, who expressed fears the Alliance party wanted the current site plan “scrapped”.
Downpatrick Alliance rep, Cadogan Enright said: “There is no upper limit cost of these types of projects.
“To create an inordinately expensive prestige project such as Abbey Way is not a financially responsible thing to do.
“I am still awaiting detailed replies to questions I have submitted to the Newry City Centre Regeneration programme board.
“The governance of not allowing these questions to be discussed at the board meetings has been referred to the NI Audit Office, Internal Audit and the Local Government Ombudsman.
“This project requires a root and branch re-examination of the proposed capital expenditure in order to reduce the impact on our revenue budget borrowing. Alternate sites should be considered.
“There are concerns by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) on parking spaces and NI Water on sewage capacity.
“Abbey Way is in serious trouble, it needs a plan B.”
CEO Marie Ward told the chamber that the project was “out to tender” and she had “hoped to be on site already” for construction works to begin.
The local authority chief added that the council had previously “looked at 33 sites before making a decision on Abbey Way” in 2019.
A council officer identified an inflation cost assessment on the civic hub as “£14.97m with an added £2m from the Belfast Region City Deal for public realm, making a total of almost £17m”.
A report in the chamber showed the preferred option in 2019 had an estimate of £10.5m, which later increased to £12.76m in 2022 following further development and design.
Newry Sinn Fein rep, Aidan Mathers said Alliance was continuing to “cast a shadow” over city centre development with a “blatant lack of evidence”.
NMDDC deputy chairperson, Gareth Sharvin (SDLP) put forward a proposal to approve the recommendation from officers to proceed with Abbey Way civic centre development.
But added the amendment: “I think it is fair, to carry out a review through the Strategic Finance Working Group (SFWG) of our capital programme to identify if the capital programme that is planned is an accurate reflection of the council’s objectives. If not we will continue to review through the SFWG.”
A majority vote agreed, with eight in favour, two against and two abstaining.
