SDLP Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has said that proceeding with a fixed bridge across Newry Canal would be a “spectacular own goal.”
Mr. McNulty was speaking at Stormont on the Department for Infrastructure’s proposal to construct a fixed bridge across Newry Canal as part of the Southern Relief Road project. He pressed the need to ensure that the bridge across the canal was an opening bridge, a position previously supported by the new Infrastructure Minister, Liz Kimmins.
SDLP MLA Justin McNulty said:
“Proceeding with a fixed bridge across Newry Canal would be a spectacular own goal. Such a decision would not only undermine the proud maritime history of Newry, but it would significantly complicate the efforts initiated by the SDLP to regenerate Newry Canal.
“The strategic potential of waterways such as Newry Canal as drivers of tourism, economic revival, and urban regeneration cannot be overstated. The facilitation of a lifting bridge as part of the Southern Relief Road, running in parallel with the development of the Newry City Park at Albert Basin, would be a game changer for our local community and the local economy.
“Locally, people in Newry are making it very clear to me, to their local councillors, and directly to the Department for Infrastructure, that they cannot countenance the prospect of a fixed bridge that permanently severs and seals Newry Canal from Carlingford Lough and the Irish Sea.
“Despite having committed a grand total of £0 to the project, the Department for Infrastructure are citing financial pressures as a means to justify a fixed bridge. In addition, the Department seems content to undermine the lifting function of the Narrow Water Bridge, just a mile downstream from the proposed Southern Relief Road. It just doesn’t make sense.
“The Department for Infrastructure have made it clear that they do not believe they can afford to facilitate a lifting bridge across Newry Canal. I firmly believe that we can’t afford not to.”
ENDS
CLANRYE NEWS 