£1m Funding To Tackle Dereliction

£1m funding has been announced to tackle dereliction in a number of areas in Northern Ireland.

Environment Minister Alex Attwood made the announcement.

Fermanagh is to receive £380,000 in the run up to the G8 summit, while Belfast will benefit from £300,000.

The works to be carried out could include demolishing buildings at Broadway on the Falls and the Crumlin Road Belfast, refurbishing Lisburn City Centre or the removal of "eyesores" in Ballycastle and Bushmills.

The £1m funding will be divided up between the following Council areas:

- Fermanagh - £380,000

- Belfast - £300,000

- Lisburn - £160,000

- Moyle - £100,000 for Bushmills, Ballycastle, Ballintoy, Waterfoot, Mosside, Armoy

- Down - £60,000 for Ballynahinch, Newcastle and Downpatrick

Alex Attwood said: "This is good news for many areas and a further step on my programme to attack dereliction across Northern Ireland. Fermanagh will be very much in the international spotlight this year as hosts for the G8 summit. This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase its charms to the world. I want my Department to contribute to that and almost £380,000 will be a good start towards addressing dereliction and decay in the area. Belfast has been in the international spotlight for all the wrong reasons. It is fitting that we do everything in our power to make the city as attractive for tourists and consumers. This funding package will be a significant boost towards that.

"I was also keen to build on the very successful work done in Portrush and Portstewart last year. This funding means we will be able to extend the good work down the coast, removing eyesores in scenic coastal areas including Bushmills, Ballycastle, Waterfoot and Ballintoy. Lisburn is this year's European City of Sport, and our investment will see many areas in the city centre being given a real spruce up. Downpatrick, Ballynahinch and Newcastle will benefit from the funding boosting in these historic and seaside areas.

"If we want tourists to stay longer, if we want more tourists to come, then tackling major eyesores and dereliction will certainly help. While this is timely in relation to G8, Lisburn as City of Sport and helping to tackle problems immediately facing Belfast, I am doing this to benefit tourism in the long term which in turn will create the opportunity to attract inward investment."

(IT/GK)