McElroy urged to 'get behind town traders'

Glynn Roberts’ comments come after Councillor McElroy queried the membership of NIIRTA and also the group’s funding in a letter to the Leader.

Said Mr McElroy, “We all know who Tesco is and how it is funded. However, despite all of Mr Roberts’ many statements against the Bridgewater Tesco proposal, he has never told us whom NIIRTA actually represents locally and how its campaign is funded.

"Could it be that one of the reasons for NIIRTA’s opposition to investment by the major grocery chains is that those chains cut out the wholesale middlemen by buying direct from the food manufacturers and the farmers?

“Perhaps Mr Roberts could answer two simple questions: How many members does NIIRTA have in Banbridge actively supporting the ‘anti’ campaign and who are they? Also, what proportion of NIIRTA’s funding comes from the wholesalers and what is the amount?”

Hitting out at Councillor McElroy, Mr Roberts said, “We have never been opposed to Tesco coming to Banbridge - they have planning permission to extend their store on the Castlewellan Road but this fair compromise has never been discussed.

“Mr McElroy seems intent on putting the blame for this fiasco onto his own local traders who simply want to avoid what happened to Carrick.

“Why doesn’t he get behind his local traders and support the people who are giving local people jobs rather than a multinational who really don’t care about what happens if they don’t succeed.

“He is actually out of step with his own party and the likes of Jim Wells who have supported our campaigns against such development.

“In answer to Mr McElroy’s questions, we have between 30 and 35 members locally. We are working in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce who are the representative voice of all the traders in Banbridge.

“Regarding our funding, we have different rates for different people. We represent independant retailers, farmers, and wholesalers and they all pay different rates. It’s also no secret that the likes of Musgrave and Hendersons are representated on our board, but they only have one vote each so they are no more powerful than any of the rest of our members.”