Crossgar poll protest over leisure centre

Crossgar poll protest over leisure centre

4 May 2016

CROSSGAR Youth League representatives will be staging a peaceful protest outside the village’s polling  station during tomorrow’s Assembly election.

The protest at Glasswater Primary School comes as frustration grows about the lack of progress in developing a new sports centre in the village.

The eagerly anticipated cross-community project would feature a floodlit 3G pitch and land at St Colmcille’s High School’s Killyleagh Road campus has been identified as the preferred development site for the scheme.

But there is concern about the lack of progress on the sports centre development and recent confirmation that work to advance the project has no chance of starting until next year at the earliest.

A feasibility study into the proposed Crossgar project was carried out several years ago and recognised the overwhelming need and support for such a facility, while an economic appraisal costing £15,000 to compile on the proposed centre was also completed.

Paul Teggart — who is heavily involved with the Youth League — is also the chairman of the Crossgar Community Association, but has made it clear this organisation is not involved in tomorrow’s protest.

He said the protest will focus on the lack of recreational facilities in Crossgar and provide local people with an opportunity to express concern about the lack of investment in the village by Newry, Mourne and Down Council.

Mr Teggart said there is also growing frustration that the Lislea Drive play park in the village which was targeted by arsonists by last year will not be fully reopened until potentially the end of the summer. 

Mr Teggart said the Youth League’s committee has written to local schools in the area asking parents, pupils and teachers to support tomorrow morning’s protest about the lack of recreation facilities in Crossgar.

He continued: “The protest is about telling all councillors and MLAs who will be elected to the Assembly that children of the Crossgar area would like them to put recreation top of their agenda. “As one resident said recently on social media, if the damaged play park at Lislea Drive had been in Downpatrick or Newcastle, it would have been repaired immediately and not left for 10 months as is the case in our village.

“The economic appraisal on the proposed sports complex was completed by the former Down Council in 2013 but we have been told it will be 2017 before the new council will look at this particular project again.”

Mr Teggart said there are also concerns about the health and safety risk an old play park at the Westlands estate poses to children. He said community officials have highlighted the issue with the new council, but their concerns have not been taken on board.

He added: “The children of Crossgar want nothing more than fair play from our new council on the provision of recreation facilities in the village. It is now time for the local authority and whoever is elected following tomorrow’s Assembly election to step up and let the people of Crossgar see who cares about our children. Anyone who would like to come along the Crossgar polling station to join in what will be a peaceful protest will be made very welcome.”

Tomorrow’s protest will be held at 11am.