Council’s McCreesh Park admin error

Raymond McCreesh Park on Patrick Street is due to be put on the open market in six months if the ‘surplus asset’ is not disposed of through the D1 process.

The D1 process is a stage employed by the council to seek interest in the surplus lands from government and community bodies at the market value.

The proposal to approve the sale process was said in chambers to have been agreed by Sinn Fein and the DUP.

However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has now discovered that the decision, which was made in confidential session was not seconded by the DUP, but by the SDLP, despite the committee chairperson declaring the former.

In open session on October 17, committee chairperson, Tierna Howie (Alliance) said in error: “Surplus asset report, on the proposal of Cllr Mathers (Sinn Fein) and seconded by Cllr Lewis (DUP) the following was agreed.”

As the decision was made behind closed doors, the physical showing of hands or verbal support by the councillors would not have been known by the media.

The LDRS contacted Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDDC) to clarify the matter.

A council spokesperson said: “Further to your query, the council can advise that this was an administrative error, which will be rectified at the forthcoming council meeting.

“The proposer was Councillor Mathers and the seconder Councillor Sharvin.”

Councillor Gareth Sharvin is a Downpatrick SDLP rep.

The city centre park has been a long-running source of controversy, with unionists bitterly opposed to it being named after a republican paramilitary. McCreesh, from Camlough was one of 10 republican prisoners who died in the 1981 Maze Prison hunger strikes.

Children in the Patrick Street area, where the Raymond McCreesh park is located, were provided with a consolidation playground at Martin’s Lane in 2022, which serves both them and young people in the Barcroft area. The Martin’s Lane park is around half a mile away.

The McCreesh site is still in recreational use including a recent community family festival weekend held in August with financial assistance from NMDDC, the Policing and Community Safety Partnerships Programme and the Department for Communities.