Conference puts spotlight on regional regeneration

A two-day conference designed to raise awareness of the economic and community benefits of mill restoration is set to take place this week in Sion Mills.

The Island of Ireland Mills Conference will see delegates from throughout Ireland attending the event – held on the 11 and 12 September - to hear a variety of presentations on all aspects of mill restoration and regeneration, which will include a visit to the site of the Herdmans Flax Spinning Mill, currently the focus of a major redevelopment initiative.

The event is being organised by the Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust, which aims to promote economic regeneration in the region through the preservation and reuse of the area’s historic buildings.

Celia Ferguson, spokesperson and founder of the Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust, added that she hoped the conference would send out a clear signal that wider investment in such programmes of regeneration can lead to greater benefits than financial return alone - and that the pay-off for the community at large can be priceless, in terms of both pride and the preservation of local heritage.

The conference will offer attendees the opportunity to exchange ideas about the possibilities created by such projects, and to hear about many other successful stories surrounding the regeneration of sites such as the Dean Clough project in Halifax, England, that now employs over 3,500 people.

Closer to home, local councillors will be on hand to explain how Newtownabbey’s Mossley Mill has made the transition from disused flax factory to a Civic Centre for the 21st century. (CL)