County Down town could be in line for new ‘professional’ running track
County Down could be set to get a “professional running track” amid calls to nurture local athletic talent.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s (NMDDC) active and healthy communities (AHC) committee approved a motion this week for a review of its public lands to accommodate a new 400m athletics track.
According to the AHC report, the sports ground would be a joint project with a school or statutory body, similar to the sole existing council track in the district at St Colman’s College, Newry.
Mournes SDLP rep, Laura Devlin, bringing the motion forward, said: “Acknowledging the sterling contribution made on the international athletic stage by local athletes from Newry, Mourne and Down, this council regrets the current lack of a professional running track in the east of the district.
“The council commits to carrying out a desktop review of all publicly available land in east Down that could accommodate a professional running track, with a view to delivering on this much needed sport amenity for current and future athletes within our district.”
She added: "We know that the council carried out a review in 2022 and the need for a running track in Downpatrick featured, but the problem still was and still remains today, is the availability of land or should I say lack of it.
“We have so much sporting talent in the NMDDC area. We’ve had notable athletes feature on the world stage. And this is often in spite of our limited facilities. Imagine the talent we could cultivate and develop if we were fortunate enough to create a professional running track in east Down.
“I would ask that this matter not be put on the back burner. I wonder if any future report could be time bound in some way on this potentially exciting new project coming back to the committee?”
A council officer responded: “At the minute we are looking at various sites in the district, particularly in the Downpatrick area.
“We are hoping to meet onsite hopefully in April. Thereafter there will be a scoping exercise to see what we will take forward and then hopefully by May we will have a report to take back on proposals before seeking committee approval.”