South Armagh people ‘deserve delivery on road issues’ | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

South Armagh people ‘deserve delivery on road issues’

SDLP Slieve Gullion Councillor Pete Byrne has said that local people in South Armagh deserve delivery in relation to their concerns about the state of roads in the area.

Speaking to Newry Times, Byrne said, “Not a week passes where I don’t get a phone call from a constituent about an issue regarding our roads.

“Potholes have always been a problem particularly here in South Armagh and it is clear to everyone that this area has always been disadvantaged despite the local influence we have had at heart of the Executive in the last decade.

 

 

“That said, I have little confidence in an unaccountable Department of Infrastructure to deliver for the people of South Armagh. At Council we have already been presented with an Interim Report which disgracefully fails to acknowledge the dire condition of roads in our area despite a comprehensive list compiled by myself and my colleague Kate Loughran.

“I fully expected the department to take the concerns of local people seriously, instead they were treated with contempt. It is simply not good enough that local infrastructure is paying the price of political failure. The lack of accountability here should be a cause for concern for all public representatives,” he insisted.

“The current situation is not sustainable and civil servants should not be in control of our budgets. While constituents still pay their taxes, our roads continue to deteriorate. While we wait for significant capital investment in the South Armagh area, my priority is to listen to and report the concerns of local people.

 

 

“On Friday I was inundated with complaints about the state of our roads following an overnight dip in temperatures. It is an absolute disgrace that South Armagh roads were left untreated especially when there was prior warning. The SDLP has called on Divisional Roads Manager Simon Richardson for answers.

The SDLP Councillor added, “We as public representatives can and should do more, standing in the middle of a road pointing at a pothole for a photo opportunity or waiting for accidents to happen will not wash anymore. What we need and what local people deserve is delivery.”

 

 

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=62492

Posted by on Dec 7 2017. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Leave a Reply







Find us on Facebook

Log in | Designed by Gabfire themes