It was my honour to have been chief executive in Down Council

It was my honour to have been chief executive in Down Council

1 April 2015

DOWN Council chief executive John Dumigan brings the curtain down this Friday on a public service career spanning five decades.

The local authority ceased to exist at midnight last night when it formally merged with its neighbour in Newry and Mourne to form one of 11 new super councils in Northern Ireland.

After beginning his career working in the chief architect’s department at the former Ministry of Finance designing government buildings and facilities, Mr Dumigan moved to Down Council where he planned to stay for a year. In the end, he spent 40 years at the heart of local government in the Down area and admits he loved every minute of it.

Reflecting on his tenure with the council where he has been chief executive for the past five years, Mr Dumigan said when Down Council was formed in 1973 it had literally no facilities apart from a community hall in Drumaness gifted by the local mill and a few playing fields.

“The district has undergone an amazing transformation over the past 40 years and tens of millions of pounds have been invested in a range of facilities for the ratepayers,” he said. “Today we have leisure centres, community halls, a museum, an arts centre, recycling centres, playing fields in every town and village, tourist information centres, modern recycling centres and 3G sports pitches,” he said.

“We also developed a major landfill site which was an absolute peach of a buy at the time as it was a huge bonus and an income generator for the council before a change in government policy led to a reduction in the amount of waste being buried in the ground.”

Mr Dumigan said Down Council has worked hard to provide ratepayers with high quality public services, played a key role in the Downe Hospital campaign and lobbied for new road investment, more houses and public and private sector jobs.

He said the local authority was also particularly good to him, sponsoring him through university on two occasions, ensuring he got the right training to keep him abreast of developments within the various disciplines he worked in. A specialist in building control, Mr Dumigan said the service does not get the profile it deserves but nevertheless plays a crucial role, keeping people safe in their homes, at work and while attending a host of facilities including theatres and restaurants.

The chief executive’s appointment at the helm of Down Council coincided with a period of what he describes as “great austerity” but explained that despite difficult times for many, the local authority was able to strike two zero per cent increases and keep the rise below the level of inflation over another three.

“Over the past five years we moved to the Downshire Civic Centre, provided an ultra-modern recycling facility in Ballynahinch and purchased the town’s Market House. We refurbished and extended the Down Arts Centre and work is ongoing to extend the Down County Museum. 

“We have built and refurbished 22 play parks and opened the new Sports and Well-Being Centre at Ballymote in Downpatrick, with environmental improvement schemes completed in Ardglass, Downpatrick, Ballynahinch and Saintfield. Plans for the new Down Leisure Centre are well advanced alongside a community centre in Saintfield and a very successful mountain bike trail has been provided in Castlewellan,” said Mr Dumigan.

The chief executive also pointed to the improvement in the district’s tourism infrastructure and the development of the successful Festival of Flight in Newcastle.

He continued: “I was fortunate to meet with presidents, royalty and Government ministers in Ireland and across the UK, made presentations to the Assembly, spoke at international conferences and travelled widely on council business. I loved my time with Down Council and it is something I will never forget

“I have been exceedingly lucky during my time with the organisation to have had exceptionally good, talented, committed and knowledgeable staff who care about the services they provide and the organisation they work for.  Down Council has a right to be proud of what it has achieved over its lifetime and invested in its community. I have a great regard for councillors who give so much of their lives towards working for the betterment of the district.”

Mr. Dumigan said the role of local politicians can never be underestimated and that the district was fortunate to have been a peaceful area with good community relations. He said any ”bumps in the road” were always sorted out and even though politicians had their political differences, they set them aside for the good of the people. 

“Political differences certainly were aired and people had strong views, but they did not let that get in the way of what they wanted to do for the people of the district. This was one of Down Council’s strengths and something I am proud of. I worked for a number of local authorities and without question my home for the past 40 years was the best. Everyone from politicians to the staff worked as a team for the good of the district.”

Mr. Dumigan admits he’s disappointed Down Council did not have another five years to run to continue its work on key areas including recreational development in Tollymore, Castlewellan and Donard forests, further investment in tourist facilities in Newcastle, in particular, the Castle and Islands parks and the creation of a new Gateway to the Mournes Centre. He would also liked to have seen the purchase of farm buildings at Delamont Country Park to further improve one of the district’s most popular visitor attractions.

Mr. Dumigan added: “It was my honour to work for Down Council and to have been the chief executive for the past five years. The job was challenging over recent years given the financial environment we found ourselves in, but we continued delivering the standard of service ratepayers have come to expect.

“Friday will be one of mixed emotions. I will really miss Down Council and wish the new super council every success. I cannot thank all those I have worked with over the years enough for their friendship and support. It meant a lot and it’s now my turn to sit back and read the newspapers to find out what the new super council is doing.”