SENIOR planners are to be asked to overturn a decision to back a new adult gaming and amusements lounge opposite the Down Arts Centre in Downpatrick.
Local politicians are concerned about the location of the proposed development and the refusal by the Planning Service to take those concerns on board.
Councillors say given the £1m investment to refurbish and extend the Down Arts Centre and plans to transform Scotch Street into a so-called cultural quarter, an adult gaming an amusements lounge should not be allowed.
An initial approval recommendation tabled last month was deferred by local planners to allow Downpatrick councillors to meet with them to discuss the proposal by a local businessman in greater depth.
But at Monday night’s monthly meeting of the local authority, planners confirmed they are still backing the proposal.
Concerned that planners have not changed their opinion, councillors agreed to refer the approval recommendation to the Planning Service’s Management Board in Belfast.
Councillor Éamonn Mac Con Midhe said he believes there are “more appropriate locations” for such a development and that given the amount of money which has been invested in Scotch Street, the current planning application should be refused.
Councillor John Doris also expressed concern about the planners’ approval recommendation. He said it was “absolutely necessary” that Down Council gets the best possible buildings in Scotch Street where it has invested so much.