‘TWIN CITY’ PLAN FOR DUNDALK AND NEWRY AIRED IN NEW REPORT
PROSPECT OF MINI METROPOLIS OF 70,000 PEOPLE AND NATIONAL PARK MOOTED FOR REGION
The prospect of Dundalk and Newry becoming a ‘mini metropolis’ of up to 70,000 people is presented at the launch of an ambitious new report.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern does the honours at the Carrickdale Hotel with members of local authorities from both towns in attendance.
‘Newry-Dundalk 2006: A New Perspective On The Development Of The Region’ outlines the benefits to be gained not just for each location but moreover for the mini metropolis the region would become.
The concept of a bi-polar city was first introduced at the third annual Ireland-Harvard conference in Newry in 2003.
The conference concluded that the principle of developing a third city at the centre of the Dublin-Belfast corridor was a way of liberating the cross-border region from the ‘negative attributes of its historic and political legacy’.
Following on from this, Newry and Mourne District Council, Louth County Council and Dundalk Town Council commission the report in question to further explore the concept.
It advocates working on the basis of the population of the entire region – an estimated 60,000 in 2001-2002, made up of 32,505 in Dundalk and 27,433 in Newry.
Skills, qualifications and disposable incomes of people living on either side of the border are compared which shows there is a greater number in Newry with third-level qualifications – 3,978 compared to 2,487.
Also, the average disposable income is greater in the north at €25,376 against €15,684.
The creation of a National Park, combining the Cooley Mountains, Mourne Mountains and the Ring of Gullion is mooted at the launch.
Acknowledging the prospect of this and other major developments, Dundalk Town Council chairman Cllr Martin Bellew points out there has already been significant work done on such as the Joint Dundalk-Newry Museums and Education Projects and the Dundalk-Newry Farmers’ Market, as well as the Newry/ Louth Carlingford Lough Infrastructure Programme, among others.
‘With this report we are attempting to persuade the two governments of the potential of this area,’ he adds.
Minister Ahern believes the removal of remaining British army watch towers along the border will enable the Newry and Dundalk countryside to return to its former beauty.
‘ The British government has just confirmed that five watch towers are being taken down, including this morning that which is directly opposite the hotel here.’
He remarks that it was only after peace and stability were obtained in Northern Ireland that this region in particular could move forward.
‘New industries are not coming to this area in recent years because they are fans of post-conflict Ireland but rather because we have the best workforce and the best infrastructure.’
The minister continues there are many challenges facing the development of a ‘ twin city’ approach but moves such as forthcoming legislation to provide an ‘All-Ireland Cross-Border Energy Market’ in 2007 would go a long way to towards overcoming barriers.