10 June 2003
MINISTER LAUNCHES PORTADOWN RIVERSIDE CONSULTATION
There is enormous potential to develop sites along the banks of the River Bann for the benefit of everyone in the Portadown community, the Minister with responsibility for Social Development, Des Browne, MP, said today.
The Minister was speaking in Portadown after taking a boat trip that allowed him to see, at first hand, some of the riverfront sites that could be transformed as a result of proposals in the Portadown Development Framework, which is currently under public consultation.
He also opened the Portadown Framework Office at Millennium Court, where local organisations and residents can find out more about the proposals during the consultation period. The Minister met with the Mayor of Craigavon, Jonathan Bell, and other members of the Portadown Development Framework Steering Group.
Speaking after the formal opening of the Framework Office in Millennium Court, he said:
"The opening of this public office will enable the consultation process on the proposals to be as open and transparent as possible and will allow local people to engage directly with the consultants. It represents another milestone in a process towards revitalising Portadown.
"The local Steering Group continue to demonstrate great energy and tenacity in moving this process forward and they are to be congratulated for all the work which has gone into this initiative since I last visited in March.
"It is quite clear, from the boat trip on the River Bann which I have just been given, that there is great potential to develop the derelict and vacant sites along the riverfront for the benefit of everyone in the community. Not only does scope exist on either side of the river for retail and commercial uses, there is an opportunity to develop amenities and encourage more social and recreational use of the riverside.
"The Development Framework brings forward those ideas in a visionary document which should be of great interest to all who wish to see Portadown become a vibrant centre with a sustainable economy based on commercial and recreational developments with key rail linkages to major cities.
"I would encourage all the people of Portadown to play their part and to look carefully at the proposals when they arrive in the post. They have a unique opportunity to help shape the future of their town by giving their comments on these challenging proposals to the consultants."
BDP Planning consultants have been appointed to take forward the public consultation process on the Portadown Development Framework and they are based in the new Framework Office at Millennium Court. This will include the circulation of a summary document and questionnaire to more than 18,000 addresses in the Portadown area next week.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The consultation will run from May 2003 until the end of August 2003.
- Details of the proposals can be viewed at the Framework Office in Millennium Court and members of the public can also give their comments on line at www.portadowndevelopmentframework.org
- The Portadown Development Framework was produced by BDP Planning in association with MVA Ltd. The consultants were engaged by the Department for Social Development in late 2001, following a decision by an inter-departmental group established by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to consider how the social, economic and community relations problems in Portadown could best be addressed.
- The Framework’s proposals identify 16 development zones covering some 250 acres, including Meadow Lane, the Peoples’ Park, the River Bann frontage and Edenderry. This is to be seen as a 10-15 year concept, with pump-priming public sector finance over the first five years to act as a stimulus for potential private sector development.
- The public consultation process is managed by a Steering Group comprising locally elected representatives, officials from Craigavon Borough Council, the Department for Social Development, the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and representatives from the business and commercial sectors in Portadown.
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