£4m To Be Invested In Local Parks

Belfast City Council and the Department for Social Development are marking a £4m investment in local parks with an official sod cutting at Dunville and Woodvale parks.

It is part of the £150m Investment Programme 2012-2015 instigated by the leaders of the council`s political parties earlier this year.

Chair of Belfast City Council's Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, Councillor Deirdre Hargey, and the Minister for Social Development, Nelson McCausland, officially cut the first sod at both sites.

The Dunville scheme includes a floodlit 3G sports pitch, a sports pavilion, playgrounds, and a community space. Woodvale will boast a floodlit multi-sport polymeric pitch, a community events space, a community garden and playgrounds.


Clearance work at Dunville and Woodvale parks got underway last month and the £2m development at each park, which are also supported though grant aid by the Department for Social Development's Belfast Regeneration Office, will take around a year to complete.

Councillor Hargey said: "The work now on the ground shows that the council`s commitment to boosting the city`s economy and improving facilities for the city and local communities is real.

"When the party leaders signed up to this Programme in February we were determined to get projects on the ground quickly. With the Titanic memorial gardens already completed at City Hall, work at the Mary Peters Track being completed ahead of the 2013 World Police and Fire Games and this work now underway the real benefits of the investment are there to see.

"We hope that this investment will allow future generations to continue to enjoy these facilities."

The Investment Programme will create 200 jobs and 400 work placements and support communities across the city through a £5 million local investment fund.

(CD/GK)