10 December 2003
£1.4 MILLION WATERSPORTS PARK OPENED AT CREGGAN
A major new recreational facility in the Creggan area of Londonderry was officially opened today by John McGrath, the Deputy Secretary in the Department for Social Development.
The 100-acre site on the edge of the Creggan housing estate includes an activity centre, relocated fishery, a newly constructed jetty, a network of paths and extensive hard and soft landscaping. It marks the completion of a project that arose from a community audit commissioned by the North West Development Office under the EC URBAN Community Initiative eight years ago. Mr McGrath congratulated the directors of Creggan Country Park Enterprises for their imagination and commitment in bringing forward a development of this scale. He said: "I am delighted that the Department for Social Development, in partnership with the European Union, was able to provide financial support of some £762,000. This triggered almost £700,000 of additional funding from other sources - including Derry City Council, the District Partnership and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland - to complete this ambitious scheme. "The provision of infrastructure has also, more recently, facilitated the development of a range of sports and training projects, many of which will benefit marginalised groups within the Creggan. Substantial funding for revenue and programme costs has been made available by the Local Strategy Partnership, Proteus, the Sports Council and the New Opportunities Fund. "The project has also managed to generate income itself though hiring out facilities and selling electrical power generated through a hydro-electric scheme. "This important project demonstrates how local community organisations can work successfully with statutory organisations and other funding bodies to address the needs of local people. This partnership approach is to be welcomed and is very much in line with the Government’s Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy – People and Place – aimed at improving the quality of life and the prospects of the most deprived and disadvantaged urban communities in Northern Ireland." Mr. McGrath concluded by saying that his Department, in partnership with the European Union had supported a number of other projects in the City under the URBAN Community Initiative in recent years and that these had made a very significant contribution to the overall regeneration of Derry
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