Nurturing villages with GROW funding

12/10/2010

GROW Local Action Group is offering support to local villages and surrounding rural areas through the Village Renewal theme of the Rural Development Programme, which aims to improve quality of life, making our rural villages better places to live, work and play.

The first stage of this will be developing village plans by looking at what is currently in place in villages and identifying what they need to develop. The second stage is implementing the actions identified through the village plans to regenerate the villages and enhancing the community infrastructure. This could be improving how the village looks, providing signage or streetscaping or encouraging greater use of existing village buildings. Villages which are eligible for support under the GROW Village Renewal theme include: Toomebridge, Templepatrick, Parkgate and Crumlin (Antrim); Whitehead (Carrickfergus) and Doagh, Ballynure, Ballyrobert and Cogry/Kilbride (Newtownabbey). Funding has been awarded by GROW for individual Masterplans to be developed for Toomebridge, Doagh and Whitehead and community consultation will be an important part of this process. Draft Masterplans are due to be completed by the end of October 2010 and publicly displayed with a view to having each Masterplan finalised by January 2011. It is then anticipated that the villages will apply for funding to implement aspects of the plan in early 2011. Funding has also been awarded to employ a Village Renewal Facilitator for up to two years. The Facilitator’s role will be to provide hands-on support to rural villages across South Antrim, including Templepatrick, Parkgate, Ballynure, Ballyrobert and Cogry/Kilbride, to help bring forward and develop Village Plans for these areas. The Facilitator is now in post. As Crumlin already had a Council village Masterplan in place, it was able to start implementation straight away, and Antrim Borough Council has been awarded funding of £230,000 to carry out a Village Enhancement Scheme. This scheme will involve removing the old overhead electricity cables and poles, installing new street paving and street furniture, such as bins and hanging baskets and undertaking a programme of tree planting. There will also be traffic management improvements on Main Street. Local Action Group Chair, Cllr Vera McWilliam, said, “This is an opportunity to carry out major improvements in our villages, to develop them for both the local community and businesses. With significant funding available to implement actions coming out of the Masterplans, I look forward to seeing villages across South Antrim benefit to become revitalised, building on the vibrant rural community which is already there. ” Joint Council Committee Chair, Cllr Janet Crilly, continued, “This Programme is also a fantastic chance for villages to think about their future. For Templepatrick, Parkgate, Ballynure, Ballyrobert and Cogry/Kilbride, the Village Facilitator will play a vital role in helping develop plans and secure funding in the future.” If you are interested in finding out more on Village Renewal, please contact the GROW office on 028 9448 1311 or visit www.growsouthantrim.com

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