Other News In Brief

SIS Pitches Transforms Irvinestown Tennis Facilities

SIS Pitches has completed restoration work on the tennis facilities at Bawnacre Centre in Irvinestown, Fermanagh.

The £250,000 works included the installation of new foundations, drainage, new carpeted playing surfaces and a flood lighting upgrade.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council funded £139,000 of the project with the remaining £110,000 secured from the Landfill Community Fund.

Chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Stephen McCann, said: "Before the upgrade one of the courts was closed while the other could only be used weather permitting.

"These facilities have been transformed, ensuring that our residents continue to have access to high specification, modern public tennis courts and facilities within the district.

"This significant investment demonstrates the Council's commitment to delivering on one of the key outcomes of its Corporate Plan; to ensure the people of the district are healthy and well physically, mentally and emotionally through the delivery of quality Leisure, Recreation and Sports facilities across the district."

Alliance Calls For Controversial scheme To Be Halted

Alliance Councillor Michael Long has called for a controversial scheme which handed out hundreds of thousands of pounds of ratepayers' money without proper checks to be halted.

Last month, the DUP, Sinn Féin and PUP agreed to give £400,000 to community groups for diversionary activities related to July and August bonfires. However, no process appeared to be in place, with Councillor Long saying a carve-up between the parties was used to determine successful applicants instead.

At a Belfast City Council meeting, an attempt by Councillor Long to get the decision reversed was voted down by the DUP and Sinn Féin.

"It appears the funding on Belfast City Council is allocated on a 'who you know' basis as opposed to what you know. Truly, when it comes to the DUP and Sinn Féin, some are more equal than others," said Councillor Long.

"No-one can work out how the funding works - there is no scoring, no outcomes, nothing. Several of the groups awarded money do very good work but the fact remains no-one else had the chance because there was not a proper process in place, and instead the only groups approved are those the two biggest parties decided to back."

Two Rural Grass Cuts This Year Are Insignificant - UUP

Ulster Unionist Councillor Richard Holmes has described the news that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) will be carrying out two rural grass cuts this year as welcome, but still insufficient.

Lack of grass cutting by DfI came to a head in the Causeway Coast & Glens Council chamber recently when it emerged that Council were spending £55,000 per year cutting grass on behalf of DfI Roads Service. Cllr Holmes equated this to over 300 miles of roads whilst Cllr Darryl Wilson proposed that Council stop cutting the grass for DfI and call them in to Council for a Special Meeting.

Cllr Richard Holmes said: "There has been a very cynical attempt by an incompetent Stormont administration to pass on costs to Local Government with no additional monies to compensate. This has happened with planning, with car parking and grass cutting seems to be the latest front.

"Ulster Unionist councillors have done their utmost to ensure that Causeway Coast & Glens Council works very hard to manage a budget measured in the tens of millions. Unfortunately, the Council is expected to pick up the tab for a Stormont government with a budget in excess of £12 billion pounds per year. Adding in the DUP’s billion-pound bung it really does seem that money grows on trees for some of those at Stormont. And still they can’t manage to cut the grass!

"Rural areas are suffering terribly from lack of investment in infrastructure from potholes, to broadband speeds and now grass cutting. Two grass cuts per year is wholly inadequate. The recent warm weather has boosted growth of the verges and with the best will in the world, even if they were to start now, there is no way that DfI can cut all the verges in a timely manner to maintain road safety, which is of vital importance."

(CD)