By Sarah Curran
A LOCAL politician, who claims the Ards peninsula is being ‘left to ruin’, is to compile a list of council maintenance issues.
DUP alderman Robert Adair has said he has plans to visit every site throughout the peninsula which is maintained by Ards and North Down Council, to compile a list of maintenance issues, which he will then present to the chief executive.
The local alderman’s plan follows a number of complaints by residents about areas across the peninsula not being properly maintained.
Last week, he spoke out about the lack of ‘proactive’ maintenance by the council at Ballywalter’s historic Lime Kilns site, with overgrowth needing tended to and seating areas needing painted.
However, he believes the lack of proactive maintenance at council maintained sites is an issue across the peninsula.
Speaking about a further two issues, Mr Adair noted there was poor maintenance within Greyabbey Cemetery, noting how graves dating back hundreds of years were at risk of damage due to overgrowth.
“There are trees growing over the headstones and they are going to cause damage,” Mr Adair said.
He continued that while the cemetery was not used for any new burials, it was still to be maintained by the council, noting how many tourists often visited the area.
He said: “A lot of tourists would visit the Abbey and the adjoining cemetery because of the historic graves that are there. Last year there were people from almost 60 cruise ships who visited the site so it brings visitors from places like the USA and elsewhere.”
Mr Adair said the council had told him they would schedule maintenance in the area after the nesting season was over, however he pointed out it had not been in this state before, adding that ‘maintenance had slipped’.
“This highlights a number of sites where the council have fallen behind recently and they need to implement a proactive, rather than reactive, maintenance schedule,” he added.
Mr Adair also pointed out the poor maintenance at Bayview car park in Kircubbin, saying it was ‘in a state of disrepair’, with broken walls and seating needing fixed.
He continued that this was a popular area also for tourists, families enjoying picnics and those gathering mussels.
“The council are meant to carry out routine inspections and as you can see from these sites, there hasn’t been any routine inspections being carried out,” Mr Adair said.
“I’m going to visit every site that the council has jurisdiction over on the Ards peninsula and I’m going to compile a study, looking at the maintenance of them, and see what work needs done. I’m then going to present that to the chief executive,” he said.
A council spokeswoman said the local authority carries out a significant programme of planned and preventative maintenance across its estate, which includes almost 200 assets across the borough.
“The council has made considerable progress in moving from a predominantly reactive maintenance approach to one that is planned, prioritised and informed by regular condition surveys,” she said.
“Around 78% of maintenance expenditure is now directed towards planned works, helping to improve the condition, reliability and long-term sustainability of council assets.
“While the council recognises that there will always be areas where further improvement would be welcome, maintenance works must be prioritised within available resources and considered as part of the wider budget and rates- setting process,” she added.
