Work Begins On Saintfield Community Centre

With all of the necessary funding now in place construction work has started on Saintfield Community Centre.  A letter of offer of £500,000 has been received from the Mourne, Gullion and Lecale Local Action Group which is responsible for delivery of Priority 6 of the Rural Development Programme.  The formal announcement of the funding was made at a special event at the Belfast Road site of the community centre on Friday 10th August.  Newry, Mourne and Down District Council will provide £800,000 towards the cost of the conversion of the former B.J. Caraher site into Saintfield Community Centre.  The work is expected to be completed by early 2019.

Among those at the formal announcement were Cllr Roisin Mulgrew (Chairperson of
the Mourne, Gullion and Lecale Local Action Group), and Cllr Mark Murnin
(Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council).

Some of the members of Saintfield Development Association, Saintfield United Football Club,
St Mochai’s GAC and Saintfield Community Trust who attended the launch of Saintfield Community Centre.

Martyn Todd (second from left in photo above), Chair of Saintfield Development Association, said, “It is fantastic that everybody in the Saintfield area will have a new shared space for indoor sports and community activities.  We are delighted that funding from the Rural Development Programme and Peace IV were added to the money committed by Newry, Mourne and Down Council to make this happen.  Over the years of the project, many different people, council officials, councillors and organisations have contributed to the project.  Without their input and support we would not be where we are today, with the reality of a community centre just a few months away.  I hope this long-awaited amenity will bring new heart to our village where people of all ages, backgrounds and interests can interact and enjoy a variety of activities in a shared space.”

Work begins by removing the old office block which will
maximise the space available for the indoor 3G pitch.

Ganson UK has been selected by the Council to carry out the conversion. Site manager Cathal
McClelland (second from right) and colleagues enjoy a break during the photo shoot.

The background to the community centre project can be found HERE.