Belfast Residents Urged To Inform PEACEPLUS Action Plan

Belfast residents and community and voluntary organisations are being encouraged to help develop the city's PEACEPLUS local community action plan.

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) has approved an indicative allocation of €17,437,277 for Belfast City Council's PEACEPLUS Local Community Action Plan under theme 1.1 of the PEACEPLUS Programme.

Theme 1.1 allows for councils to develop a co-designed Local Community PEACE Action Plan to enable communities, with leadership from local authorities, to establish priority actions for their local areas to make a significant and lasting contribution to peace and reconciliation.

Belfast's PEACEPLUS local community action plan will have three core themes:

1. Local community regeneration and transformation

2. Thriving and peaceful communities; and

3. Building respect for all cultural identities.

Belfast City Council's Shared City Partnership will oversee the development of the city's PEACEPLUS Local Community Action plan.

Chair of the Shared City Partnership, Councillor John Kyle, emphasised the need for local residents and communities to get involved in designing the plans.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for Belfast to avail of this significant funding to build on the good work that we currently deliver to improve peace and reconciliation and make Belfast a welcome city for residents, visitors and people who work in the city," he said.

"It's important that as many people as possible get involved to have their say in designing the plan which will make a lasting contribution to peace and reconciliation."

A range of afternoon and evening engagement sessions are planned at the Spectrum Centre, Girdwood, East Belfast Network Centre, St Comgall's, Crescent Arts Centre and the Clayton and Crowne Plaza Hotels between 17-27 October.