Plans to breathe new life into Downpatrick centre

28 September 2022

AN ambitious plan to regenerate Downpatrick has been drawn up to help restore its place as one of Northern Ireland’s leading county towns.

The draft document — which has been compiled by the South Down Alliance Party — will be formally launched next month, with local people being asked for their views on the way forward.

At its heart, the document’s top priorities are initiatives to drive economic development with the detail of next month’s formal launch coming as the new Downpatrick regeneration working group prepares to hold its first meeting in the town this morning.

The document promises to deliver on the party’s Assembly election promise to “restore our county town” and suggests that going forward a so-called business improvement district could be formed in Downpatrick which would increase opportunities for drawing down public and private funding streams.

Other key priorities include protecting the future of the Downe Hospital and the Downshire Civic Centre and championing infrastructure projects that can help address town centre congestion — a nettle which has not been grasped in decades.

The document’s 25 strategic projects are grouped under key themes of economic development and regeneration, environment and public services, community, arts and tourism and infrastructure.

Announcing details of the draft document, South Down MLA Patrick Brown said its formal launch takes place on Wednesday, October 19 at 7pm at Denvir’s Coaching Inn and he is keen for residents, community groups and business representatives to attend.

He said the Downpatrick masterplan released in 2011 was a previous attempt by Down Council and former Department of Regional Development to regenerate the area.

But Mr Brown said few of the plan’s ambitions have been delivered “with many falling by the wayside after the merger of local government in 2014.”

Mr Brown continued: “In recent months, the new Downpatrick regeneration working group has been established by Newry, Mourne and Down Council and I believe Alliance’s new strategy document could help shape some of the thinking of this group and provide a clear vision for the town.

“This document has been informed by months of engagement with Downpatrick businesses, community groups and residents and represents what we feel is an ambitious yet achievable plan to help restore our county town.”

Mr Brown said Downpatrick was the largest town in South Down, boasting a wealth of potential including world leading tourism assets, a solid entrepreneurial base, a history of strong public sector employment, strong commuter links to Belfast and a beautiful rural hinterland.

But he said that unfortunately, the area has been “severely neglected over recent decades” with little of the 2011 masterplan delivered and a general feeling from locals that Downpatrick is the district’s “forgotten town”.

Mr Brown argued this was clear from how the local council “downgraded” important tourism assets such as the Down County Museum and Downpatrick and Co Down Railway.

He also claimed there are plans to displace good public sector jobs from the Downshire Civic Centre by building what he labelled an “unnecessary new council headquarters in Newry”.

Mr Brown added: “There are also no major capital projects planned for Downpatrick, whilst Newry is due to receive upwards of £60m in coming years to regenerate its city centre.

“This is first draft of the new strategy and I firmly believe that any plan for Downpatrick’s regeneration must be bottom-up and led by its people. Therefore, we want feedback on what’s in the document currently and ideas for what may be missing.”

Downpatrick councillor Cadogan Enright said the “restore our county town” message was a central focus of Alliance’s Assembly election campaign and a key reason why he was inspired to join the party after many years as an independent councillor.

“Alliance’s growth in the Downpatrick area reflects a desire for change following a severe lack of delivery from the establishment parties,” he continued.

“Downpatrick needs a bold vision if it is going to recover from years of neglect, the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis. Alliance is the only party to develop such a vision for our county town and I hope other parties and our local council will get on board and work collaboratively to see it delivered.”

Anyone wishing to attend the formal launch of the draft strategy document in Downpatrick on October 19 is asked to confirm their attendance by logging on at https://www.allianceparty.org/restore_our_county_town where a copy of the draft document can be viewed.

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