Ratepayers across Newry, Mourne and Down are set to see bills in the new financial year increase by 3.98%.
The new rate was struck tonight (Monday), with the domestic for 2025/2026 set to be 0.4862 pence.
To give an example, for a property valued at £133,000 this would lead to an annual increase of £24.74 per year or £2.06 per month.
The Non-Domestic District Rate for 2025/26 is 30.1884 pence.
The rates that residents of the district pay are made-up of the District Rate, which is agreed by Council, and the Regional Rate, to be set by the Northern Ireland Executive.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Pete Byrne said, “The District Rate not only pays for the services the Council is responsible for, it also supports the delivery of projects that will transform our communities to bring important benefits and opportunities within our district.
“Over the past two years we have made significant progress towards realising our goals.
“This year the increase in Employer National Insurance contributions, which come into place from 1 April 2025, have been absorbed into the operating costs of the Council for 2025/26. These costs were not expected when forecasting costs last year but have had to be included after the fiscal changes made by the Labour Government in the Budget.
“Additionally, ongoing year-on-year cuts to the Rates Support Grant have further impacted us. Despite this, we have worked hard to keep the rate increase as low as possible, knowing the financial pressure many of our ratepayers are already under.
“The way in which we spend income from rates is designed to respond to local needs and improve our residents’ lives and livelihoods in the long term. The Council has reviewed its services across the district and has agreed to invest additional resources in the Street Cleansing Services, Planning Services and to support the implementation of its sustainability and climate change obligations.
“In relation to sustainability, we have been advised of funding for managing household package waste from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs. The Council has allocated the equivalent of 1% of the rate as expected income from the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme. This will be used to invest in services in the district.
“To help tackle the overall cleanliness of our district, the Council has invested in six new state-of-the-art, mechanical street sweeping vehicles. These will be operated by 12 additional street cleansing staff which will work from enhanced street cleansing schedules. Residents can expect a noticeable improvement in their communities, as these sweepers will be able to access housing developments more easily and tackle issues such as dog fouling more efficiently.
“The Council has also secured funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for 25 solar powered, compacting litter bins. These bird-proof bins can hold up to eight times more waste than standard bins and are equipped with smart technology that alerts us when they need to be emptied. These will make a visible impact in public areas, helping with littering and preventing overspilling bins.
“Investment into planning services will allow for the recruitment of additional staff to improve the processing of applications and provide better support to applicants. This will enable further investment across the district, particularly in new build and regeneration projects.
“Improving the health and wellbeing of our residents remains one of our eight Corporate Objectives. To support this objective, we will continue to invest in our sports facilities. In January we were delighted to officially welcome construction workers and engineers onsite to begin work on Dunleath Urban Sports Park, which will deliver a state-of-the-art skatepark and pump track to Downpatrick
“In Donard Park, Newcastle, the Council will be moving forward with its exciting upgrade of the current 2G pitches to a 3G synthetic pitch, with the provision of covered seating areas and other improvement works to be completed later in the year. Similar plans are also in place for Jennings Park, Newry where the grass pitch will be upgraded to a new 3G synthetic pitch to accommodate two soccer pitches and a full sized GAA pitch.
“In the next financial year we will prioritise the delivery of our front line services, businesses and vulnerable people and strengthen relationships with local stakeholders and funders to work smarter and better for our residents.
“To remain responsive to local needs, the Council will proceed to action its ambitious transformational agenda to improve its resilience, efficiency and delivery so that we can continue to get things done even in the most testing of times.”
