‘Narrow Water Bridge project an opportunity to demonstrate equality’ – Rogers | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

‘Narrow Water Bridge project an opportunity to demonstrate equality’ – Rogers

The announcement by Assembly Finance Minister Simon Hamilton that he is to reallocate some £250 million has prompted SDLP Assembly Member Sean Rogers to seek urgent meetings with both Mr. Hamilton and with Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy in an effort to secure an improved financial input by the Assembly into the Narrow Water Bridge project.

The South Down MLA said,“More than £115 million of the reallocated money will go towards the Department of Regional Development and onwards to that departments capital projects.

“I was encouraged by Minister Hamilton’s comments when he said that one of the real benefits of his reallocation will enable him to use easements in some departments to fund good projects that will deliver an economic return in the long run.

“I was further encouraged when the Minister publicly recognised the fact that the construction industry is still struggling to get back on the road to recovery. Every word in his comments could be appropriately applied to the Narrow Water Bridge project.

Rogers continued, “Following the Ministers announcement on Monday business people in South Down and a number of constituents have been commenting to me that all of the key schemes referred to in the Ministers statement were located well away from this area and that once again South Down and the Newry area appears to have been overlooked in the reallocation process.

“I look forward to meeting the Ministers on the issue and given the fact that Mr. Hamilton’s predecessor in Finance Mr. Wilson did eventually get round to supporting the project and of equal importance Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy has also supported the Narrow Water link it should not be an impossible task to seek an improvement in the Assembly’s share of the funding to allow the long-awaited bridge scheme to proceed,” he added.

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Posted by on Oct 24 2013. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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