A word of thanks to all those parishioners who have completed the survey / questionnaire by Otium Leisure Consultancy on behalf of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
Our primary concern with the Regeneration proposal is that we as parishioners would lose the car – parking spaces at the back of the Cathedral. Parishioners would have nowhere to park near the Cathedral under the current proposals.
The parish has had three meetings with the council. At the very first meeting we expressed our very serious concerns at the loss of parking for parishioners attending weekend Masses, daily Mass, Funerals and Weddings. The Cathedral has a capacity of 1,000 people, so where would people park, if these spaces are removed? This shows a serious flaw in the proposal.
The two Council representatives agreed to have a look at the parking issue and at a traffic flow plan but have reported no progress in either the second or third meeting.
We would like to support the regeneration of Newry but removing essential parking for parishioners wishing to attend the Cathedral and for those shopping on Hill Street is extremely serious. In our opinion we understand this aspect of this proposal to be deterioration rather than regeneration.
If you have not made your concerns known, please do so before the closing date 13th May 2021 at 10.00am