13 June 2005
£200K FACELIFT TRANSFORMS TOOME
The County Antrim village of Toome has benefited from a £200,000 makeover.
Period style lighting and new street furniture have been installed, overhead power cables removed and the area has been attractively landscaped.
Speaking at an event to mark the completion of the major improvements, Henry Johnston, Director of the Department Regional Development Office said: "The opening of the Toome By-pass last year provided us with the opportunity to give the centre of the village a facelift, something which has not been possible for many years because the main priority was to keep traffic flowing.
"DSD was pleased to contribute £194,000 towards the costs with NIE Connect providing a further £10,000. I am very impressed with the outcome and am delighted to announce that an additional £10,000 will now be made available to support the painting and cleaning of privately owned properties to spruce up the village.
"Physical regeneration may take time but it does result in positive changes. Experience has shown that improving the environment is an effective way of attracting new investment and encouraging people to stay."
Mr Johnston congratulated all those who had been involved in the scheme, particularly the Toome Industrial Development, Amenities and Leisure Regeneration Group (TIDAL) and Antrim Borough Council which managed the scheme and will play a crucial role in its future maintenance.
The Department for Social Development and, previously, the Department of the Environment, have had a long and successful relationship with the community in Toome. Since 1998 around £900,000 has been spent on regeneration initiatives including the development of Toome House into business units, a crèche and meeting facilities for local people, the creation of a seating area and feature at Carey’s Fountain at the entrance to the village and the development of the Canal Walk along the banks of the River Bann.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- The Toome Community Regeneration and Improvement Special Programme was approved in 1998. The core project, Toome House, was developed by TIDAL and completed in early 2000.
Although it had been recognised for many years that there was a strong need for improvements to the village centre, it had not been possible to undertake an Environmental Improvement scheme in the centre of Toome. When the Main Street formed part of the main A6 Belfast to Londonderry Road, the road works necessary to implement the scheme would have caused an unacceptable level of traffic disruption on this vital route. When the Toome By-Pass was completed in 2004, the Roads Service drew up plans to reinstate two-way traffic in the centre of the village. This allowed a major environmental improvement scheme in the centre of the village to be undertaken. The work was completed in March 2005.
- The £10,000 spruce up grant will meet 50% of the costs of work done to improve the appearance of privately owned properties in the village centre. Eligible work includes painting and cleaning the properties. The remaining 50% of the cost will be met by the property owner.
- For further information, contact Dara Cosgrove on 028 9082 9078
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