Politician hits out at ‘secret’ meeting on tourism centre plans

Politician hits out at ‘secret’ meeting on tourism centre plans

4 December 2019

A LOCAL politician has criticised Newry, Mourne and Down Council for holding a recent discussion on the future of Downpatrick’s visitor information centre in secret.

As exclusively revealed in the Recorder last month, Downpatrick could lose its dedicated centre under radical proposals being considered by the local authority.

The issue was briefly debated during a behind-closed-doors meeting of the local authority’s Enterprise, Regeneration and Tourism (ERT) Committee in Newry last month.

While no formal decision has yet been made, the Recorder understands that council officers are considering ending the dedicated presence of staff in their current base at the St Patrick Centre in the town. 

Council officials have confirmed that a report which considered the future opportunities for visitor information centres within the district was tabled for discussion in November, that the meeting was held in committee and that no final decision has been made.

It is understood that there had been no consultation with local politicians about the future of the visitor information centres prior to last month’s proposal being discussed. 

The future of visitor information centres will now be discussed at a meeting of the ERT Committee next Monday, with Downpatrick councillor Cadogan Enright calling for the discussion to take place in public.

At the local authority’s full meeting on Monday evening, he described the decision to debate the future of tourist information centres in secret as “extraordinary”.

Cllr Enright said he was perplexed that the future of centres in Downpatrick, Newcastle, Newry and Kilkeel needed to be subject to “some sort of secret regime where we cannot discuss which ones should be open and which ones should not.”

He argued that it cannot be correct to have a conversation on such an important issue “free from public observation” and suggested that do so was “misapplying council rules”.

Cllr Enright said the November discussion should not have been held in secret, insisting the issue must be debated in open council.

He declared: “The future of our tourist information centres in our council area is extremely important to all councillors. This is not a transparent motion and I want to take a vote on whether or not this should be held in camera [private] or not because it is clearly a misapplication of council rules. It is inaccurate to suggest that council rules apply in this particular case.

“I would like it explained to me why the future of visitor information centres in our council area should be subject to being held in camera.”

Mournes councillor Henry Reilly said the issue will cause a lot of concern for councillors and asked if there will be time allowed for “sufficient public consultation.” 

Rowallane councillor, Billy Walker, said it was clear that the issue required further discussion and it was a “shame and disgrace” that an article on the future of the visitor information centres had appeared in the local press.

He added: “This was supposed to be an in-committee item, but the story appeared on the front page of a local paper. I responded to the story the following week and it is a damned disgrace that anyone is thinking of closing the visitor information centre in the county town of Downpatrick.”

Council chief executive Marie Ward said the issue debated by the local authority committee fell under a section of the local government act in relation to financial or business affairs so was not for public discussion.

She added: “As staff are involved I think it important to make it clear that there is no proposal to close the visitor information centre in Downpatrick. The matter will be discussed at the next ERT Committee.”