Cost of living crisis and floods make for ‘challenging year’ as Council publishes Assessment of Performance

The Chairperson of the Strategy, Policy and Resources Committee, Councillor Tierna Howie said, “I am pleased to present this year’s Assessment of Performance. 2023-24 has been another challenging year where we continued to deal with a cost of living crisis whilst also navigating the significant impact of the floods on our district.

"The Assessment of Performance has given us an opportunity to reflect on how we have worked through the past year, the achievements we should be proud of and the areas for improvement we need to continue to focus on. Council is finalising a Sustainability Development Strategy and Action Plan which will explore further opportunities for new Green Economy projects and help meet Carbon Emission and Climate Change targets.”

A statement from the Council explained that the Assessment of Performance highlights where progress has been made over the past year.

"The Council worked tirelessly to deliver services and ensure they were delivered seamlessly for residents across our district. Through a range of economic development programmes, the Council supported 363 local businesses and social enterprises and helped to create 104 new jobs,” it said.

“More people than ever continued to re-connect with the natural beauty of Newry, Mourne and Down by visiting the wonderful outdoor spaces we have on our doorstep, with the Council recording 263,364 visits to community trails and over 525,000 visits to Kilbroney and Slieve Gullion Forest parks in the last 8-9 months of 2023-24. Through the Financial Assistance Scheme, the Council continued to support community groups by awarding £1.18M towards 386 local projects and there was a decrease in the number of illicit dumping and litter and dog fouling incidents of 9.6% and 2.4% respectively. However, statutory standards for processing planning applications have not yet been achieved, but Council is committed to reducing these figures.

“Council’s leisure services recorded a 19% increase in recorded attendances compared to 2022-23, and a decrease of 60% in the level of municipal waste sent to landfill from 2,319 tonnes in 2022-23 to 937 in 2023-24. Whilst these are encouraging there is much work still to be done.”

The statement added that through the Corporate Plan 2024-27 and Performance Improvement Plan 2024-25, the Council “will focus on what matters most to you – improving the quality of life for all local communities and building a district we can all be proud of”.

Further information on the Council’s performance during 2023-24 will be made available on the Council’s website www.newrymournedown.org/performance by 30 September 2024.