Councillor Paul Gallagher backs rates rise for first time

The Strabane councillor raised eyebrows at a special meeting in the Guildhall on Monday by announcing he would be supporting the 3.46 per cent rates rise.

Colr. Gallagher has been a serial critic of investment in City of Derry Airport (CoDA) and has cited this among a number of other reasons for not approving the rates estimates in previous years. But on Monday he said that while there were “a few things” he was not happy with he felt the progression of capital projects in Strabane - the cross-border Riverine project and the Melville pitches, particularly - were positives.

“All in all it’s for the benefit of the district and I’ll be supporting it,” he said.

Sinn Féin Colr. Mickey Cooper praised Colr. Gallagher for backing the rates but said: “A key point I’d make is that he had not supported the rates in the past four years.”