From the pages of the Down Recorder, September 28, 1994

From the pages of the Down Recorder, September 28, 1994

25 September 2024

DOWNPATRICK – An unique centre for autistic adults is to be built in Downpatrick, it has been revealed.

The resident unit, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, will be based at the Ardglass Road after the owners of the green field site, the Down and Lisburn Trust, gave permission for the project in principle.

Work on the site, beside Finneston House, is expected to begin in March, with the first residents moving in at the beginning of 1996.

Funded by the Downpatrick Residential Project in conjunction with Belfast’s Oaklee Housing Association, the new 14-bed uint will help young people cope with autism, which is one of the most severe developmental disorders.

Up to 23 jobs will be created for experienced staff who have worked with people with learning disabilities.

It is estimated that one in a thousand of the Northern Ireland population is diagnosed as autistic. Sufferers have limited communication and social skills and almost half of them also have a mental handicap.

Downpatrick Residential Project, set up in 1992, will provide 25 per cent of the initial cash, while money for the fixtures and fittings will be raised by the Province-wide group, Parents and Professionals and Autism (PAPA).

NEWCASTLE – Police hunting the gang responsible for an arson attack at Newcastle Orange Hall last week believe they may strike again

The hall, at the town’s Shimna Road, was  targeted some time between Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, when damaged estimated at £5,000 was caused.

A banner, worth around £2,000 was destroyed, as were several bannerettes, and a union flag. A table was also smashed and scorch damage was caused to a carpet.

A number of pictures and certificates were also ripped from walls before being smashed. There was also extensive smoke damage caused to the building.

Police believe access was gained to the hall after a metal grille was pulled off a window at the side of the building. Once inside the gang started a blaze, but it burnt itself out, before the hall caught fire.

Members of the Orange Lodge and Royal Black Preceptory, which use the hall for meetings and to store banners, are still counting the cost, but are thankful the repair bill is not higher.

ARDGLASS – Champagne corks popped on Monday morning at Ardview House residential home in Ardglass when the rovince’s Health Minister ruled that the facility must remain opened.

Baroness Denton refused to accept a recommendation from the Eastern Health Board, which last year ratified a plan to close the home as part of a scheme to reduce bed provision for the over 75s in the area.

The 18-month battle ended when Department of Health officials contacted the officer-in-charge Mr Ed McCartan, to tell him the news that the fight had been won.

The Minister, who has been praised for the way she handled the situation and for the sensitivity she showed to all concerned, said she did not agree with the plan to close Ardview.

Members of the Ardview Action Committee say there are delighted the Baroness took the view that Ardview is a cost-effective and accessible home and say the move will restore residents’ confidence, which has taken a battering during an emotional roller-coaster ride over the past 18 months.

Making her announcement on Monday, Baroness Denton said: “Ardview House is an excellent facility and I am convinced that it should have a continuing role of play in the provision of care for the elderly. The Trust must now look flexibly at how it can maintain residential care at Ardview which is a sound building requiring little by way of capital investment.”

BALLYNAHINCH – The East Downshire’s Ballynahinch buildings supplies base is to close and the operation transferred to Downpatrick, it has been confirmed.

But the company which owns the outlet, says that job losses are be kept to a minimum, with some posts also transferred to the County town.

Trading at the East Downshire’s Lisburn Street complex in Ballynahinch ends this Friday and Mr Clive Corry, a director of the Corry Group which owns the East Downshire, says the move is necessary to avoid a duplication of operations.

He said the commercial reality of the East Downshire operating from two sites meant a duplication of overheads, which a company of its size simply could not sustain.

“Last year, we had the opportunity to greatly enlarging our Downpatrick premises, which means it is well able to cope with the transfer of business from Ballynahinch,” he explained.

“We hope that  many of the Ballynahinch staff will transfer over to Downpatrick and we are further improving the facilities at Downpatrick and increasing the size of the delivery fleet.”

CROSSGAR – Crossgar’s War Memorial Hall is in line for a major facelift as the village’s community association begins to grapple with a number of issues in the area.

Plans to give the hall a spruce-up were discussed at a special meeting last night and Down Council officials are to be asked to provide a cash-injection to help move the scheme forward.

The War Memorial Hall has been the home of the community association since it was formed several months ago with the help of Down Council’s Community Relations Office, Mr Damian Brannigan.

He has been helping the association find its feet and already the way ahead is clear with all members determined to put Crossgar on the map.

A spokesman for the Association said this week that there is a clear need for community facilities in the village to be improved.

STRANGFORD – A new accommodation block at Strangford’s Glebe House has been officially opened.

The new £250,000 building, at the cross-community residential care centre near Strangford, was opened yesterday by the chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, Mr William T McCarter, who was joined by the Province’s Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew.

Glebe House, which is owned by the Harmony Community Trust, provides a relaxing environment for children from all over Northern Ireland.

The IFI has donated £1000,000 towards the cost of the new accommodation block which will be used primarily by volunteers who help run the children’s programme at Glebe House.

Building work on the project began late last year and the first phase was completed four months ago, with the work being carried out by the Ardglass firm of Magee Brothers.

The Community Trust’s Director, Dorothy Day, said the new facility will enable it to further develop its programmes at Glebe House.

“We will make the most of the building and use it not only for volunteers accommodation, but also for other groups of all ages.”

BALLYHORNAN – A new state-of-the-art fish processing factory has recently opened at  Ballyhornan near Ardglass.

Mr Pat Byrne, who has been in the processing industry for over 15 years, moved into his new premises last month and is looking forward to the future with confidence.

He had to vacate his old factory to meet stringent new European legislation which requires fish processing factories to meet hygiene standards.

And he says the cost of his new factory has already topped the £500,000 mark.

Mr Byrne, who has a wealth of experience in the fishing industry, currently employs 14 staff, but believes the figure could rise to 25 or 30 in the future.

“The number of people we employ could double in the years ahead if we progress at the rate we anticipate,” he said this week.