By Joe McCann
A COUNCILLOR has said Ards and North Down Council must deliver on its promises to construct two major sports complexes on the Ards peninsula.
Portaferry councillor Joe Boyle said the pledges given to build a football pitch in Portavogie and a GAA and soccer multi-sports facility in Portaferry must be honoured to ensure the peninsula is not left behind.
Mr Boyle was speaking after it was revealed last week that the council has only budgeted £2.2m for the Portaferry complex leaving a shortfall of £4.3m.
The SDLP councillor said he sometimes feels others need to be reminded that the Ards peninsula is still part of the Ards and North Down Council area.
“It is also worth reminding some within the council that after extensive research and negotiations across the Ards peninsula, Portaferry was the agreed location chosen to deliver the council’s first GAA facility incorporating residual soccer and other games and activity within a sporting hub at Portaferry Sports Centre,” he said.
Mr Boyle said the need for such a facility in Portaferry was first outlined by the council years ago under the Ards and North Down Sports Facilities Strategy, when it was decided Portaferry would become the location for the borough’s only GAA pitch.
The SDLP man stated that the needs highlighted a decade ago were still there and added: “The GAA community and those involved in other sporting activities should not be denied, or deprived by the lack of sporting minded knowledge or understanding.
“Such facilities are about bonding and strengthening communities into places and locations of vibrancy and belonging, particularly whenever geographically isolated, in areas such as the Ards peninsula, with Portaferry, positioned at the most southern tip of the peninsula.”
Mr Boyle warned that the council could not ‘play fast and loose’ with the GAA community in Portaferry and
needed to demonstrate its commitment to equality and respect for all sporting traditions.
The chair of the Ards and North Down Sports Forum added: “The council would be best advised not to perform a u-turn on a commitment that could be viewed as discriminating against either one section of the borough, or towards a sporting organisation that is open and welcoming to all.”
The Portaferry councillor said the council’s historical approach towards GAA pitch provision had been negligible, with over 40 outlets for soccer and not one for GAA and said it was imperative the council delivered its first facility for Gaelic sports.
He said: “I reiterate my steadfast view that equality needs to be demonstrated by the council to apply to all ratepayers, particularly to those who have been ignored thus far with no provision from council.”
