Plus ça change…
It seems like only yesterday that Sammy Wilson, the then Minister of the Environment, was walking the main street of Bushmills, the Gateway to the Causeway, with its boarded up windows, abandoned partially constructed properties and weed strewn pavements.
Yesterday it was the turn of the new Minister, Edwin Poots. The questions remained much the same. "Why has the centre of the town been allowed to get into such a dilapidated state?"; "Why haven't the partially constructed new wooden structures been pulled down?"; "What is the Minister going to do about those who purchase properties, board them up and leave them to decay?" Funnily enough, I didn't spot any likely developers in the entourage.
Click photos to enlargeThe Minister appeared bemused and perhaps his mind was on other things. There are rumours circulating that the introduction of the Super Councils may be delayed and that elections to the current district councils may be held in May 2010.
I'm sure my contacts in Ballycastle would like me to remind the Minister about plans which could radically alter the Diamond's centrepiece: the Boyd Church and its environs.
