The Causeway Council DUP Group have urged ‘Councillors to be honest and ditch the Electioneering Stunts’ over the sale of the Dunluce Centre.
In a statement released this evening, the DUP group have said; “Tonight Councillors will vote in respect of a Call-In by the Ulster Unionist Party to challenge the decision of council on 7thDecember 2021 to sell the Dunluce Centre, Portrush to the preferred bidder following a lengthy process after the initial sale fell through.
“Sadly this debacle has turned into nothing more than a shameless electioneering campaign for some councillors with Alderman Hillis even taking to Social Media to state ‘There will be an Assembly Election in May this year so it is worth bearing in mind which parties chose to ignore the electorate. Portrush deserves better’
“What Portrush deserves is ‘The Truth’
“Residents of Portrush are being lead to believe that refusal to sell the Dunluce Centre for a second time will result in this facility being turned into some sort of Community Facility, an option which there is no appetite for within the chamber due to viability and cost, even by those currently playing politics and engaging in cheap publicity stunts despite privately supporting the sale.
“The Dunluce Centre in Portrush has been closed since 2013, been on the market twice and has been a drain on council resources costing Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council ratepayers in the region of £350k just to maintain an empty building since 2015.
“We are currently being offered £1.2 million by an investor with plans of considerable further investment to open ‘A Family Entertainment Complex’. This investment alongside the annual maintenance savings of approximately £50k provides considerable savings to the Borough ratepayer with the potential reality in the event of this sale being blocked resulting in continued annual expenditure and an additional 0.75% increase during the upcoming rate setting process at a time of extreme financial pressures where inflation alone is in the region of 5% – a risky strategy indeed.
“Now is not the time for Electioneering stunts – Now is the time for the truth, that is what the people deserve!
“While others play politics and engage in cheap publicity stunts, we in the DUP group will continue to do our best to ensure that the ratepayers of the Borough get value for money”.
