McCarthy slams land selloff backers in Strangford tourism debate

During today’s Assembly debate on tourism in Strangford, Alliance MLA for the area Kieran McCarthy has criticised the hypocritical behaviour of those who say they want to boost tourism but backed the Ards Council land selloff. Ards Council met on 23 August last year to approve the sale of key areas of coastal land, and Mr McCarthy led the strong campaign to stop this selloff.

Kieran McCarthy MLA said: “All Strangford MLAs should be doing all they can to strengthen our local tourism industry; however, some voted in Ards Council last year to sell off key coastal areas.

“This hypocritical behaviour is unacceptable. If they really wanted to help local the tourism industry to maximise their potential, they should have stopped the sale of public coastal land. This land will now become building sites for developers, instead of areas for tourists to park enjoy the beautiful scenery of Strangford.

“I led a strong campaign against the Ards selloff, which included car park land and a popular playpark. Local people will not forget who supported this disgraceful selloff.

“Our tourism industry should expect the full backing of all local elected representatives and its time that they all lived up to this basic expectation.”

ENDS