South Armagh Business Improvement Group

03/07/2026

GOVERMENT GRANT SCHEME

There is a new Grant scheme open to small rural businesses with 10 or less full-time employees and which are not Agricultural Businesses registered to a Category 1 DAERA Business ID. (I think this excludes farmers)

This Scheme is funded under the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affair’s Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Framework. Rural business development grants of between £500 and £7,500 are available to micro enterprises based in a rural area to support the sustainability and growth of rural micro-businesses across Northern Ireland by providing a small capital grant for the business.

There are information workshops taking place over the coming weeks and I have included a link below for anyone who is interested in applying.

All applicants must attend a workshop prior to applying.

http://www.ticketsource.com/ruralbusinessscheme

01/07/2026

🌾 𝐑𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍. 🌾
💰 The scheme can provide funding of up to 50% of costs for capital items up to a maximum of £7,500.
This Scheme is funded through the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
📌 Before applying, all potential applicants must attend a compulsory workshop
Read More 👉http://www.newrymournedown.org/rural-business-development..

12/06/2026

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is pleased to invite you to attend one of two upcoming information events to learn more about significant funding opportunities available to support commercial property and office development across the district.

£3 Million Office Development Grant Scheme for Newry City

The Council's £3 Million Office Development Grant Scheme aims to stimulate the delivery of high-quality Grade A office accommodation in Newry City, helping to attract investment, support business growth, and create employment opportunities.

Commercial Property Revive and Reimagine Grant

Grants ranging from £50,000 to £200,000 are also available through the Commercial Property Revive and Reimagine Grant Scheme. This funding is designed to support the revitalisation of vacant, derelict, and underutilised commercial properties located within settlement limits across the Newry, Mourne and Down District.

Whether you are considering a new office development, refurbishment project, or the regeneration of a derelict, vacant or under used property, we encourage you to attend one of our drop-in information sessions which will be taking place on the following dates:

Wednesday 17th June
2.00pm – 4.00pm
Down County Museum, The Mall, English Street, Downpatrick BT30 6AH

Tuesday 23rd June

12.00pm – 2.00pm

Killeavy Castle Estate, 12 Ballintemple Road, Killeavy, Newry BT35 8LQ

These informal sessions will provide an opportunity to meet Council officers, discuss your project ideas, learn more about eligibility criteria, and explore how these grant schemes could support your development plans.

To help you make the most of the information sessions, we encourage you to review the scheme details in advance using the links below. This will give you an overview of the funding available, eligibility requirements and the types of projects that may be supported.

£3 Million Office Development Grant Scheme for Newry City: www.newrymournedown.org/grade-a-office-accommodation-grant-scheme

Commercial Property Revive and Reimagine Grant: www.newrymournedown.org/lep-launches-of-26-million-revive-and-reimagine-commercial-property-grants

No booking is required. Interested parties are welcome to drop in at any time during the sessions.

We look forward to meeting you and discussing how these funding opportunities can help bring forward ambitious commercial and office development projects across the district.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s Local Economic Partnership is delighted to launch two property grant schemes worth a combined £2.6 million, funded through the Department for the

16/04/2026

South Armagh Business Improvement Group, alongside The Road Ahead NI and Silverbridge GFC, is raising serious concerns about the safety of the Fords Cross junction in Silverbridge.

This is a staggered crossroads with no traffic lights, poor road markings, and inadequate signage. A combination that puts lives at risk every day. While we are relieved to hear announcements regarding resurfacing works taking place in the upcoming weeks more work needs to be done with regards to safety at this junction in particular. Local residents, road users, and visitors all know the dangers of this junction. Near misses are common. The question is not if a serious accident will happen, but when. We cannot afford to wait for a tragedy before action is taken.

In response, are calling on the community to speak up. 📝 A short 2-minute survey has been launched to gather public opinion on the safety of Fords Cross

Please complete this 3 minute survey https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/bebcAbL5F1

12/04/2026

Press Release: New Work starting on A29 at Silverbridge, and significant decrease in the number of registered potholes

It is great news that work on the A29 from Tullydonnell to Silverbridge is to commence today (13/04/2026). The works costing in the region of £650,000, will address the badly deteriorated national route that runs through the heart of South Armagh.

John Nealon, Chair of the South Armagh Business Improvement Group outlined:

“This is absolute brilliant news, and credit needs to going to our local public representatives and to the Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins for securing funding for the project. Additionally, significant patching was deployed across the South Armagh, with registered potholes down significantly from the start of March figures.

Pothole patching is not a permanent solution, and here are many other stretches of road that need attention in South Armagh, but today we focus on these two positive news stories!”

Our South Armagh Business Improvement Group pothole tracker is provided below.

24/02/2026

Date: 22nd February 2026

Press Release: The epidemic of potholes continues in South Armagh

Our data (shown below in a graph) proves that the pothole situation in South Armagh is continuing to disimprove – with close on 600 registered potholes.

John Nealon, Chair of the South Armagh Business Improvement Group outlined “The sheer number of potholes now registered indicates that the problem is now reaching epidemic proportions. Having contacted the Department of Infrastructure, it was outlined that due to budgetary constraints, the Department has had to introduce a limited service maintenance policy meaning that only the highest priority road defects are repaired. I am now calling on the Department to recognise that South Armagh is now priority area. Anything less is simply not acceptable.”

The South Armagh Business Improvement Group continues to ask the local community and all local road users to record potholes on the DfI Roads website https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/report-pothole-or-other-surface-defect .

For further information email [email protected] or contact John on 00353872436872

04/02/2026

Press Release: Clearer picture emerges of pothole "hotspots" in South Armagh

Following a huge local community response, the number of reported potholes in the South Armagh area has increased from 44 up to over 229 in less than 2 weeks.

These figures are provided by the South Armagh Business Improvement Group, who are spear-heading a campaign to improve the general condition of roads. While there is significant individual potholes (probably more accurately described as craters) across the Slieve Gullion Electoral District, the group have identified a number of key black spot areas. These include

Crossmaglen to Newry Road to town speed limit, and onto Fords Cross
The A29 from Tullydonnell service station up to Silverbridge Gaa Club
The area around Fords cross
Junction with Culloville Road in Crossmaglen Square
Cullyhanna Village area
Annaghmare
Foxfield Road
McShane road off the A29

Having identified these pothole hotspots the South Armagh Business Improvement Group have decided to write to the Minister for Infrastructure, Liz Kimmins asking for information on general road improvement plans for the area and more specifically when works on these pothole blackspots will commence.

The South Armagh Business Improvement Group continues to ask the local community and all local road users to record potholes on the DfI Roads website https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/report-pothole-or-other-surface-defect .

03/02/2026

NEW!-DERELICT or VACANT or
UNDER-USED (including upper floors)
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY GRANT
Grants of up to £200,000

60% of costs*

Main criteria:
 Must be commercial property
 Renovations/works must be
completed by March 2028.
 Must be in the Newry Mourne
and Down Council area
 Must be within a town/village
limits

*Eligible works:
 Structural repairs and
refurbishment
 Conversions and Upper
floor reactivation
 Site clearing and
preparation costs
 Professional fees
(subject to quotation)

This scheme will be launched in April and will be
oversubscribed quickly – so prepare NOW!

19/01/2026

Date: 18th January 2026

Press Release: Local Business Group launches “Pothole watch” for South Armagh

The South Armagh Business Improvement Group today launched its “Pothole Watch” campaign to get an immediate improvement to the condition of roads, and in particular reduce the number of dangerous potholes in the area.

Speaking at the launch in Crossmaglen, Chairman of the South Armagh Business Improvement Group John Nealon stated “There are a number of problems with the general surface conditions in our area, but potholes are the most pressing. These potholes are causing car tyre punctures, pose a danger to cyclists and are not helping the broader development of the area – how can we encourage business to come and establish in our area, if, when they visit, have to constantly swerve to avoid the potholes.

The first aim of the Business representative group is to get an accurate measure of the number of potholes in the area. This was explained by John Nealon. “As only 44 potholes (as of the 04/01/2026) are noted on the DfI Roads website, there is a massive under reporting of the problem of potholes in the area. So, part of our social media campaign is to encourage all road users to report any potholes in the area.

Additionally, South Armagh Business Improvement Group will be commissioning some work to submit pothole information in relation to the main routes in our area. Once an accurate figure is arrived at, we will then be engaging with the DfI Roads, to ensure a significant improvement is achieved in reducing the number of pothole in the area.”

South Armagh Business Improvement Group encourages all road users in the area to record potholes on the DfI Roads website https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/report-pothole-or-other-surface-defect .

For further information email [email protected] or contact John on 00353872436872

Photos attached of potholes on a ¼ mile stretch of A29 road near Silverbridge