Alliance Councillor Patrick Clarke stated: “Following continuous complaints from constituents I welcome that decision by Down District Council to appoint a contractor on a maintenance contract to clean the granite footpaths and walkways in Newcastle.
“After speaking to Building and Estates Department staff, I can confirm that once the contractor is appointed, we can ask the contractor to clean specific areas of the granite pavements as opposed to the annual cleaning in Newcastle once a year.
“My concern has always been that an annual clean of the granite footpaths and walkways in Newcastle at a cost of over £20,000 was ineffective because of the infrequency of the cleaning.
“After events such as the upcoming Festival of Flight and World Fire and Police Games, Council officers have confirmed that they will be able to ask the appointed contractor to clean certain areas in Newcastle.
“This new approach should hopefully allow for the worst affected areas of granite footpaths and walkways to be targeted and cleaned. This should ensure that visitors and tourists as well as local businesses and Newcastle residents will not have to put up with the poor state of pavements that we have seen over recent weeks.”
ENDS