The Department of the Environment (DOE) has served an Urgent Works Notice on the owner of 119 - 121 Main St, Dundrum, a pair of listed buildings on a key tourist route to the Mournes.

This pair of conjoined urban vernacular buildings are key constituent parts of the heritage of Dundrum and, despite repeated attempts by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to encourage the owner to take action, no works have been carried out.

The Department has now issued a notice which outlines the action it will take to carry out emergency works if the owner does not initiate these within seven days. The notice is one of a number planned this year across Northern Ireland following the heritage crime summit.

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Welcoming the move, Environment Minister Alex Attwood, said: "This is a tangible commitment to Dundrum’s rich heritage. Our listed buildings are jewels from the past which need to be conserved for now and future generations. Once gone they can never be brought back. That is why, following the Heritage Crime summit that I organised, I provided extra funding to ensure direct action such as this could be taken to protect our listed buildings.

"What I and the DOE are about is creating a better place to live, work and invest. Listed buildings attract much tourism and there is always the potential to develop this further by securing and preserving our listed buildings. I am determined we do that and this Urgent Works Notice is an example of that determination."

(CD/GK)