Linen Green open for business '“ O'Neill

Visiting the Linen Green shopping complex the Minister said it was great to see the centre opened for business.

“I am very sympathetic to the difficulties faced by businesses that have been flooded and understand the distress and inconvenience it causes.

“I visited many homes and businesses affected during the winter flooding and it was heartbreaking to see the damage flooding can cause. I was particularly impressed by their resilience especially as many were operational a matter of days after the flooding. Linen Green is very much back on its feet.”

The Minister was shown around by centre manager Fionnula McEldowney and met business owners. She explained how a nearby grille had caused the flooding after it had become blocked by debris during the storm.

“It is little comfort to the 31 businesses here to know that Linen Green did not flood because of any lack of maintenance to the river, but it is important for us to learn any lessons from this event to better prepare us for future storms,” the Minister added.