Lisburn Mayor shares impact of Covid-19 with House of Lords

Mayor Alderman Stephen Martin addresses the House of Lord Covid-19 committee

Mr Martin took the opportunity to relay the community partnership work during this time and to take the strategic issues faced to the top of the UK government.

He also outlined the key challenges during the last 15 months and the impact on businesses and Lisburn City in particular.

The Committee had specific questions about plans for recovery and a future vision for the city. Commenting on these issues. Mr Martin said; “Whilst the pandemic has undoubtedly created many challenges, there is now real potential to unlock new opportunities. We need to look at our city centre plan and develop a modern high street for the future. There is still so much that we don’t know about the long term effects of the pandemic but we do know that while the circumstances have changed many issues remain the same and we must continue to adapt.

“Our vision for Lisburn City is a unique destination which is an appealing place to work, shop and live. We want Lisburn to be a city for families with a diverse retail and hospitality offering as well as education and leisure activities at the heart of everything we do.

We are working towards a cleaner and greener city for a sustainable future.”

The Committee was particularly interested in how culture and the creative industries could play a part in recovery of the City. Mayor Martin praised the creativity of the local arts community for their innovation during the pandemic; “We are fortunate to have a wealth of local talent, many of whom have worked with our creative Council arts and museums teams on innovative art and history programmes. They brought music and drama to local care homes, broadcast live talks by renowned history lecturers and captured the imagination of many young people through a range of online education and art initiatives.

We will continue to realise the positive impact of these projects in supporting the health and wellbeing of our community in the longer term.”

For further detail on the Lords Select Committee visit https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/460/covid19-committee/