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Newry Council to repay £23k over TV screen beside cathedral

  • Published
Newry screen
Image caption,

The Catholic Church objected to the screen because of its proximity to St Colman's Cathedral

A council is to repay funding of more than £23,000 to a government department following a scheme that saw a large TV screen erected without proper planning permissions.

In 2015, Newry, Mourne and Down Council erected a large screen beside Newry Cathedral.

The Catholic Church said it had not been consulted about the screen and that it was a breach of planning rules.

Planning permissions were overturned and the screen was taken down and sold.

At the time, Canon Francis Brown, from Newry Cathedral, told the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ that the church and parishioners were "delighted" with the court's decision.

The council will now have to pay back £23,193 of funding to the Department for Communities after the department deemed the original payment "irregular".

The payment is set for approval at a meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down Council on Monday.