Chamber seeks help for summer

Chamber seeks help for summer

DOWNPATRICK Chamber of Commerce is seeking more support from Down Council as it attempts to organise a summer entertainment programme for the town.

The rejuvenated Chamber is planning to organise entertainment every Saturday in the summer months in St. Patrick’s Square in a bid to encourage more visitors to the town.

Chamber officials approached Down Council for financial support but are disappointed the local authority is prepared to contribute just £1,000 to the initiative, along with help from staff at Down Arts Centre.

In a bid to encourage the provision of more financial support, chamber members are to meet with council officials next Wednesday evening in the St. Patrick Centre.

In a letter to Chamber members chairman, Gary Flynn, said the offer of a small budget of £1,000 was “not acceptable.”

“As far as I am aware Newcastle is doing something very similar to this on the promenade and obviously they are getting a lot more funding than £1,000,” said his letter.

“There is an unfair bias towards Newcastle in my opinion and the chamber is not willing to accept this,” he added.

The summer entertainment initiative was one of the ideas to come out of a ‘brainstorming’ session with council officials earlier this month.

A common theme emerged of the need to attract additional people to Downpatrick and to capitalise on existing visitors, both local and tourist.

The aim of a summer entertainment programme is to complement existing attractions, such as the St. Patrick Centre, Down Museum and Railway.

A report published after the brainstorming said action is needed to safeguard the future of the town centre.

“This is critical for Downpatrick as we see more and more shops closing, many that have been trading in Downpatrick for generations,” said the report.

“We have lost three shops since Christmas and action is required to make Downpatrick a more attractive destination. If we want to have a town centre in ten years time it is critical that measures begin to be implemented now.”

The report says a well organised programme of quality entertainment would encourage local people to view Downpatrick as somewhere to spend an afternoon during the summer.

Councillor Colin McGrath has said the council must do all it can to support Downpatrick traders more.

“When one examines the accounts it is fair for the traders of Downpatrick to suggest there is a bias towards Newcastle.

“I think the investment and development of Newcastle is important and necessary but so too should development for the County Town.

“There was a time when the district’s festivals were equally distributed and that helped local economies but with Halloween and Festival of Flight in Newcastle and a full summer season of activities too it is now necessary to fund Downpatrick beyond a St Patrick’s Day event,” he said.