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Alliance Councillor Billy Webb has condemned those behind a security alert in Newtownabbey.

A viable device was made safe after being found in the Felden development off the Mill Road. Residents were evacuated to the Valley Leisure Centre during the incident yesterday (Saturday).

“This sort of incident is carried out by people who represent absolutely nobody,” said Macedon Councillor Mr Webb.

“They have no regard for the lives of anyone in the community and I appeal to them to stop. My thanks go to the police and other agencies for dealing with this situation in what is close to a major shopping area on a busy Saturday afternoon.

“I urge anyone with information on this incident to contact police with it immediately.”

Alliance MLA John Blair has said that service animals need full legal protection.

Mr Blair was speaking in support of an Assembly Motion to recognise the invaluable work of service animals used by the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the Prison Service. The Motion called for legislation making it an offence to harm or abuse an animal in the line of duty.

John Blair said: “While there is legislation in place to protect animals from abuse, it does not specifically deal with those animals which are trained and deployed to protect the public.

“These public service animals, which are usually dogs, are an essential part of public service and ensuring safety of people. Dogs play a crucial part in drugs and arms searches and regularly assist in public order control. It is perfectly reasonable that we should expect service animals, and the role they play for our benefit, to be recognised and protected in law.

“There is widespread support in the Assembly for this Motion to make it an offence to harm service animals. I would hope there is the same level of support and sympathy for animals when we come to debate other forms of animal cruelty, such as fox hunting or hunting with dogs simply for the kill.”

Alliance Councillor Billy Webb has welcomed Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s setting of its residential rates to 1.99 per cent, the lowest increase across Northern Ireland since the creation of the ‘super councils’ in 2015.

Councillor Webb was speaking after the Council announced the increase, which comes into effect on April 1.

“I am pleased Antrim and Newtownabbey has seen the smallest increase since the merger of the Councils, and still below the rate of inflation,” he said.

“My thanks go to Council officers, my colleagues and Councillors from other parties, who were able to come together to face the challenges in front of us and strike this rate, in addition to a reduction in the business rate.

“It means ratepayers in the Borough will benefit, seeing investment in a number of projects across the area and value for money from Council services, as well as being able to balance household budgets and maintain their standard of living.

“Alliance will continue to push for further efficiencies across the Council to ensure best value for ratepayers’ money.”

Alliance spokesperson on the environment, John Blair MLA, has welcomed the commitment from the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to increase the number of trees planted in Northern Ireland.

John Blair said: “There is a global focus on the environment and the climate emergency we are all facing. There are many ways we can help to fight this emergency and the planting of trees is one of the most straightforward, but effective.

“Across Northern Ireland we have only around 8% of our area in woodland. This is one of the lowest in Europe and I believe we urgently need to increase this. I welcome the commitment the Minister gave to me in the Assembly Chamber that he supports the planting of additional trees to help improve our environment. Around 2 million trees are planted in Northern Ireland each year and I would urge the Minister to provide the resources to increase this substantially.”