Council misses out in bid for NI Water complex

Council misses out in bid for NI Water complex

15 August 2012 - by Joanne Fleming

DOWN Council has failed to purchase the former Northern Ireland Water complex in Downpatrick as a base for a major new civic amenity site.

The vacant NI Water (NIW) base at Cloonagh Road is adjacent to the council’s existing amenity site and was viewed as the ideal location for a new purpose built refuse centre.

However, NIW refused to give the council first refusal on the site and has instead sold it to a private company after months of discussions with council officials.

The base was one of 12 NI Water facilities across Northern Ireland that was closed three years ago as part of a major efficiency drive.

Councillors, who were keen to purchase the sprawling site before it went on the open market, were told that because NIW is not a fully fledged government body the Cloonagh Road site would not initially be offered to public sector bodies.

A spokeswoman for Down Council said they were informed by the selling agent last Wednesday that NIW had accepted an alternative offer on the property on Cloonagh Road.

“Council are continuing to progress our efforts to acquire a suitable site and are in confidential discussions with a number of land owners,” she said. It is believed a site at the nearby Brannish Road is also being considered.

Local councillor Cadogan Enright said although it was disappointing to lose this particular site he was confident a deal would be done on one of two other nearby sites.

“It is probably quite fortuitous, some of the other sites could be better,” he said.

“No-one in council management has acted improperly.”

Councillor Enright said the new civic amenity site when erected would allow more goods to be recycled and restored, such as furniture.

He said he was pleased in the meantime that at the current Cloonagh Road site it had been agreed to allow dumped bicycles to be restored and sold.

“Following proposals by myself last year, council management have agreed to include an area in Down’s new larger civic amenity site could be used to allow people to leave out perfectly reusable goods for others to take away for free as is done in the USA and Australia,” he said.

“Anybody visiting our local civic amenity centres will see dozens of perfectly good bicycles in the skips, furniture, doors and many other reusable items like furniture. As rules currently stand, ratepayers are not allowed to reuse what is in the skips. This makes no sense.

“My motion will allow the council to bring forward this date at least for bicycles, and we can move on the other large recyclables when the new civic amenity centre comes on-stream.”