Council officers say there is no business case but councillors hold on for town chamber's opinion
A plan to cover Newtownards' famous Conway Square to host events in the town centre appears to be officially over, after local council officials admitted it has no business case and nothing in its coffers to fund the project.
It was put on hold after failing to meet criteria from Stormont’s Department for Communities, but returned a year later in November 2021 when councillors agreed to a million pound plan giving the town square potential for events seven days a week. And now, at this month’s meeting of the council’s Place and Prosperity Committee, elected members were told in a report by council officers that “no economic case exists” to further progress the Conway Square covering project.
“The project, under the economic evaluation, results in a net present social cost and benefit cost ratio below 1:1 . Based on the limited data available, the project is not forecast to present a net economic benefit to the economy. Although there would be non-monetary benefits, the outline business case concludes that the project is not considered to represent value for money.”