Visit by DRD Minister Danny Kennedy (15/11/12)

MLA Simon Hamilton invited Minister Kennedy to Saintfield to hear about the projects that local people are working on and to invite the Minister to consider supporting the upgrading of the Main Street as soon as he would have some available funding.

Also invited to an initial briefing meeting were Martyn Todd representing Saintfield Heritage Society (SHS), Barbara Graham and Simon Thompson representing Saintfield Town Regeneration Committee (STRC) and Susan Welsh representing Saintfield Community Estates Partnership (SCEP).

Barbara Graham (STRC), Cllr William Dick, Simon Thompson (STRC), MLA Simon
Hamilton, DRD Minister Danny Kennedy, Cllr Terry Andrews, Cllr William Walker,
Stephen Duffy (DRD Section Engineer), Susan Welsh (SCEP) and Martyn Todd (SHS).

Simon Hamilton explained that Saintfield people were working hard to improve the town for the benefit of residents, traders and visitors.  He outlined a few of the main projects under way, including a new community centre, improvements to the town square and an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund.  He suggested that  it would be sensible to think of improving the Main Street itself and pavements on both sides, to be carried out as an integrated project with the other plans.  He said that he thought this would be an effective and sensible use of public money.

Barbara Graham explained the Saintfield Town Regeneration Committee’s application to the Heritage Lottery Fund under its Townscape Heritage Initiative.  She said that the application was for about £1million from HLF and had the support of the huge majority of Saintfield traders and residents.  With the matched funding a successful application would result in around £2million being spent on improving the buildings and shop fronts in the Saintfield Conservation Area.

Susan Welsh emphasised the poor state of the pavements and explained that, although Saintfield Community Estates had succeeded in improving the playgrounds in Saintfield, they were very keen to see the street scape and infrastructure also being improved.

Minister Kennedy then spent nearly an hour walking around Saintfield, visiting the Orange Hall, the Memorial Garden and the Assumption Youth Club.  During his walk he met Saintfield Town Regeneration Committee members and Rowallane councillors and was interviewed by David Telford of the Down Recorder.

DRD Minister Danny Kennedy, Martyn Todd (SHS) and MLA Simon Hamilton talk in the square.

Cllr William Dick, DRD Minister Danny Kennedy, MLA Simon Hamilton
and Barbara Graham (STRC) walk along Main Street.

Cllr William Dick, DRD Minister Danny Kennedy and
MLA Simon Hamilton look around the square.

Martyn Todd gave a summary of the history of Saintfield, stressing the co-operative and integrated character of the town, giving examples of good working together throughout the last two centuries.  Minister Kennedy was particularly interested in Saintfield’s most famous son, Francis Hutcheson and the role of the Battle of Saintfield in the 1798 Rebellion.  They later visited the Memorial Garden on Comber Street to see the commemoration of all who died in the battle.

DRD Minister Danny Kennedy and MLA Simon Hamilton with Martyn Todd (SHS)  in the
Memorial Garden as he explains the events surrounding the 1798 Battle of Saintfield.

Martyn Todd (SHS) and DRD Minister Danny Kennedy with members of Saintfield Town
Regeneration Committee – Ian Mack, Barbara Graham, Simon Thompson and John Branch.

MLA Simon Hamilton and DRD Minister Danny Kennedy with local
councillors William Dick, William Walker and Terry Andrews.

Norma Mack, Brenda Maitland (hiding!), Paul McGeown, Ian Mack and Martyn Todd
all agreed that the visit had been very worthwhile.

Most of the photographs for this article were kindly provided by Cllr Terry Andrews.