Square one as Lidl buys ex-school site

Square one as Lidl buys ex-school site

27 April 2016

IT’S back to square one in the search for a location for Newcastle’s new leisure centre after retail giant Lidl confirmed it now owns the former St Mary’s Girls’ Primary School site in the resort.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council had coveted the Shanslieve Drive property for some time to build a new leisure centre, but its final cash offer to acquire the site last December failed. 

With Lidl confirming it has bought the site and ramping up plans to build a modern new store at the former school, one of the key priorities for council officials and consultants working on a new tourism master plan for the resort will be to identify locations for a new leisure centre.

Possible options include Donard Park — which was the original choice of politicians for the new centre before attention switched to the school site — but providing a new centre here could result in the loss of an existing sports pitch. 

Other contenders include the existing Newcastle Centre which could be redeveloped in tandem with the demolition of the existing Tropicana outdoor swimming pool. Castle Park is another location which will come under the microscope and is one many believe would be ideal, given its town centre location.

While the town’s bowling club is located at this part of the resort, there are suggestions it could be relocated adjacent to beside the Bryansford Road tennis courts on the site of the now little-used pitch and putt.

Relocating the bowling club, the local authority’s technical services depot and toilet block which are also located at Castle Park would free up a huge area of town centre space where new leisure provision would be easily accessible. The Recorder understands council officials are keen to provide a new centre in the heart of Newcastle and not on the outskirts of the town.

Councillor Willie Clarke said public confirmation of the sale of the Shanslieve Drive site to Lidl will come as disappointing news to the Newcastle community who have had to endure a “long, protracted process since 2012.” 

He said news of the sale did not come as a surprise to him as it has been widely accepted locally that Lidl was the preferred bidder. Councillor Clarke said when a planning application is submitted to develop the former primary school site, there will be an opportunity for the community to express its views through the planning process. In the meantime, he said attention must now switch to agreeing a new site for the proposed leisure centre as quickly as possible.

“Sinn Fein warned changing direction with regard to the site of the new leisure centre would seriously compromise its delivery,” declared councillor Clarke. “If we had proceeded with the Donard Park site we would now be constructing a state-of-the-art leisure centre. Instead, we are back to where we started. Reneging on the Donard Park site was a fatal misjudgement that has left us in the situation we now find ourselves in.”

Councillor Clarke said with Newry, Mourne and Down Council currently developing its tourism  master plan, it is vital an agreed site is part of this process to provide a “unique opportunity to develop a stand out tourism package.”

He continued: “Such a package has the potential to position the region as the premier activity tourism destination in Ireland and must have a gateway leisure centre at its heart, with our beaches, Castle Park, Islands Park and forests all complementing the proposed gondola chair lift proposal into the Mournes.”

Councillor Clarke also confirmed that this summer Newcastle residents are to be consulted on the future of the Islands Park which a number of politicians want to see redeveloped to enhance the resort’s tourism offering. He said it is critical there is a long term vision for the development of this part of Newcastle with the area transformed to become an activity hub.

South Down SDLP MLA, Sean Rogers said he was disappointed with the news that Lidl had bought the former school site.

“I am deeply disappointed for the wider Newcastle community who want, need and deserve a fully functioning leisure/ tourism facility,” he said.