30 November 2006
HANSON ANNOUNCES £4.75 MILLION INVESTMENT IN DUNCLUG
Minister for Social Development David Hanson MP visited Dunclug in Ballymena today to announce a £4.75 million funding package for the estate.
The Minister said: "I first visited Dunclug in August, when I was able to walk through the estate and meet local residents. I was presented with a powerful picture of a community in crisis and an area that was declining at a worrying rate. I set up a Task Force to look at Dunclug's needs to see what could be done to stop this deterioration. I am glad to be able to say that the Taskforce has delivered an excellent Action Plan for Dunclug."
The Action Plan announced by the Minister covers a four year period between January 2007 and March 2011 and includes 21 actions in three key areas:
- the physical condition of the estate. Measures include extensive work by the Housing Executive to upgrade the housing stock - including some demolition and new building. A new link road will be created between Dunclug Park and Dunclug Gardens. Street lighting will be improved and a new playpark built.
- crime and anti-social behaviour. The PSNI intends to allocate an additional, full time police officer to the beat in Dunclug. The new Police Community Support Officers will also be piloted in the town.
- community cohesion and youth issues. The new funding will ensure the continuation of existing schemes, such as Parents and Kids Together, and will establish additional youth workers and a new school-based initiative.
The Minister continued: "This plan involves the Department for Social Development and Northern Ireland Housing Executive providing at least £5 million of new money for Dunclug over the next four years. This includes a new ring-fenced fund for Dunclug of £500,000 over the next four years to support community based projects that will help empower the local community to make a difference in their own estate. This investment in Dunclug will complement what we are doing in other parts of Ballymena under the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, where we have already spent or committed £3.65 million. The scale of the investment we are making in Dunclug and other parts of Ballymena demonstrate the level of the government's commitment to tackle poverty and renew communities in the town."
The estate strategy to be delivered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive is at the heart of the Action Plan. Speaking at the launch, Colm McCaughley, Housing Executive Director of Housing & Regeneration said:
"The Task Force has created the nucleus for focused, multi agency action in Dunclug and the Housing Executive will have a key role in delivering this.
"This includes the development of an extensive environmental improvement programme, physical restructuring and the establishment, early in December, of a Housing Support and Regeneration Office in the estate."
Speaking at the launch of the Action Plan, Ald James Alexander, Mayor of Ballymena, said: "I welcome the initiative the Minister has taken to deliver this package for Dunclug. I am particularly pleased to see the positive contribution that is being made by the agencies involved, including Ballymena Borough Council. I am sure that the Action Plan will make a difference to the area and the environment in which the people of Dunclug live and that the local community will welcome it wholeheartedly."
Barry Gordon, Chairman of the Dunclug Partnership, also welcomed the work that the Minister had done to bring the Action Plan into being. He said: "The Minister came to Dunclug in August. He saw for himself the problems that the area is facing. Now, he has delivered. I would like to thank him very much for listening to the community. I am looking forward to seeing the Action Plan being delivered on the ground and making a difference to Dunclug."
David Hanson concluded by saying: "The Dunclug Action Plan has the support of all the local political parties and all the key agencies working in the area. I want it to also have the support of the local community. Therefore, I encourage local people to study the Action Plan and let the Department know their views on it."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. Dunclug is a housing estate on the Northern side of Ballymena. The Minister previously visited the estate on 16 August at the invitation of the Dunclug Residents Association. 2. The Action Plan involves DSD and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive providing at least £5 million of new money for Dunclug over the next four years. This includes:
3. The Action Plan can be accessed from the Department's website at www.dsdni.gov.uk. Comments on the Plan are invited by 14 December.
- At least £3 million from the NIHE for the Estate Strategy
- £1.25 million from DSD's environmental improvement budget for improvements to street lighting
- £240,000 from the Department's Areas at Risk programme
- £500,000 for a new fund for community based projects ringfenced for use in Dunclug
4. For further information, contact the DSD Information Office on 028 9082 9078.
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