Make Market Yard decisions public - Deans

DUP Councillor Timothy Deans raised the issue of the Market Yard project in Coleraine at Tuesday’s meeting of Coleraine Borough Council’s Leisure and Environment Committee.

The issue of the Market Yard was on the agenda to be heard “in committee” - that is, without the Press reporting on the discussions.

However Cllr Deans said that he believed, given the amount of public money being spent on the project, the matter should be discussed in full with the Press in attendance.

Chief Executive Roger Wilson said that the discussions would be about “funding applications” and “sensitivities around tendering”.

“That’s the reason we feel it would be useful to have it in committee,” said Mr Wilson.

However Cllr Deans replied: “My day job is tendering and it won’t have any effect putting this in the public domain.

“We already know the budget allocation for the Market Yard project.

“When we have six prices back from tender to discuss, that’s a completely different story but to say at this stage that we should discuss this in committee because potential funding could be affected, is just not a good enough reason.”

He then made an official proposal that the item be discussed when it arose on the agenda. This was seconded by Alderman William Creelman.

UUP councillor David Harding agreed with Cllr Deans: “The attitude of councillors should be public so that they can judge us on our behaviour.”

He suggested that in future, issues regarding the Market Yard were separated out, rather than discussing everything relating to the project in private.

“It’s very easy for people to say things in committee that they may not stand up to in the future,” he added.

However, SDLP Alderman Maura Hickey said that she was all for “openness and transparency” but said that it was important that “at this stage we discuss this in committee”.

Cllr Robert McPherson made an amendment to the proposal suggesting that the item was deferred until the Council officers could separate out which issues could be discussed in public and which ones in committee. This was agreed.

Just last week, fellow DUP councillor Adrian McQuillan questioned why the multi-million pound Portrush regeneration project was discussed “behind closed doors”.