Other News In Brief

SF Call For Brexit Visa Plan To Be Scrapped

Sinn Féin Brexit spokesperson Declan Kearney has called on the British Government to scrap their Visa plans which will require EU citizens crossing the border to carry travel visa documentation.

The Sinn Féin representative said: "The Tories need to scrap these foolish proposals which will decimate our local Tourist industry and lead to a loss of £160 million worth of visitor spend.

"When tourists come to Ireland they often travel the length and breadth of the island much to the benefit of local hoteliers, B&Bs and tour operators.

"Tourists don't want to be burdened with unnecessary documentation which will deter them from travelling to the north, the growth of all-Ireland tourism in recent years shows that the focus should be on enhancing all-Ireland tourism and creating jobs rather than creating obstacles for visitors.

"The Tories' decision to carve up these disastrous proposals in Whitehall without any engagement with local representatives is totally unacceptable.

"They must scrap these proposals and instead support the Tourism Industry to create jobs and recover from the pandemic."

DUP Calls For Clarity On Council Audit

The DUP have said that the public deserve to know who requested the "extraordinary audit" at Causeway Council, that resulted in the delay of a hotel development on the North Coast.

Making the call East Londonderry DUP MP Gregory Campbell said: "I originally wrote to the Sinn Fein Communities Minister on 1st Dec. 2020 to ask under Freedom of Information legislation, if anyone had written to her specifically asking that she undertake such an audit, and if that person was a public representative. Her Department confirmed that this was indeed the case, and that the person was a public representative, but they declined to name who it was. I have appealed this decision and await the outcome of that appeal. I understand the total expected cost of this 'extraordinary audit', which has been underway for 18 months will run into tens of thousands of pounds, but we await the confirmed amount ratepayers are expected to pay for this."

Concluding Mr. Campbell said: "I have written to the Information Commissioner to ask for this to be reviewed. It is totally unacceptable that we have a Sinn Fein Government Minister being written to by an unnamed public representative who asks the Minister to instruct a local democratically elected Council to undertake a course of action which is racking up tens of thousands of pounds of their ratepayers money and the public are to be prevented from knowing who the public representative was that initiated this course of action. This also means they are unable to question the same public representative as to the reasoning behind the request to the Minister."

Mid And East Antrim Council Complete Tree Planting Scheme

Mid and East Antrim Council has announced the successful completion of their MEA4Trees programme with the planting of the 58,000th tree.

The ambitious tree planting programme was launched by Council in December 2019 with the pledge to plant 58,000 trees - one tree for every household in the Borough – in partnership with the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland.

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Cllr William McCaughey, said: "I am delighted that the MEA4Trees target has now been reached, after just 28 months, with 58,000 trees planted across the Borough. All the trees planted as part of this initiative are native species, which was a crucial aspect of the programme to ensure that biodiversity in the Borough benefits, and to assist climate change and carbon capture targets.

"The success of the programme is certainly thanks to the extensive partnership in working with The Woodland Trust, as well NI Farm Forestry, the National Trust, community groups and schools. I'd also like to extend my thanks to council staff and community volunteers across the Borough who have been planting extensively over the past two winters.

"Tree planting will continue and the message remains the same - landowners, community groups, schools, if you have space for trees on your land, please get in touch to discuss options. If you have a site in mind and willing volunteers, we may be able to support this through our partnership with the Woodland Trust.

"Council looks forward to continuing to working with the Woodland Trust, and we have some exciting new tree planting initiatives coming up later in the year so watch this space."

Paul Armstrong, Public Affairs Manager with the Woodland Trust, said: "The Woodland Trust wants to increase tree cover in Northern Ireland and we are delighted that Mid and East Antrim is now home to an additional 58,000 native trees through the MEA4Trees programme.

"It's great to see the Council take action against climate change at a local level as trees are one of the most effective, simple and cost effective solutions. Trees have many benefits, they absorb carbon, provide habitats for wildlife and outdoor spaces for local communities. We look forward to continuing our work with Mid & East Antrim Borough Council."