Co Tyrone has gone high-tech with news that the Stormont Minister for Social Development, Nelson McCausland, has visited Northern Ireland's first 'virtual' street.

Perry Street in Dungannon has been transformed from a run down terrace of derelict and boarded up properties into a living street, complete with new and inviting 'interiors' seen through the refurbished shop windows.

The Virtual Window Scheme involves the painting and tidying up of derelict properties and the installation of pictorial scenes into boarded-up window openings to create a 'living' appearance and street scene.

Speaking during his visit, Minister McCausland said: "This work has provided an enormous uplift to what had been a very run-down street scene.

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"While I appreciate this is a short term solution, it does make the street much more welcoming to visitors. Hopefully it will increase footfall and act as a precursor to the eventual redevelopment of the street.

"My Department intends to include similar schemes, where appropriate, in its list of options for town centre regeneration initiatives across the Province."

Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council's Mayor, Cllr Kenneth Reid, believes that this step into the future is a huge step in the right direction for Dungannon.

He said: "The images disguise parts of the street, giving the impression the units are occupied, and present an impression of what Perry Street could look like if fully redeveloped and occupied.

"Only on closer inspection do passers by realise that the frontages are fake, and that there is a storyboard about the project. This is an exciting and unique approach to attracting investment and one which is brand new to Northern Ireland."

Passers by will see colourful shops, galleries, cosy houses and restaurants, and the sharp-eyed might also spot a cat and dog peeping out of the windows. Visitors are invited to find the butterflies, a symbol of the rebirth and rejuvenation of Dungannon’s Town Centre, hiding in the shop windows.

The virtual street scheme will be followed up shortly by the start of the first phase of a major Public Realm scheme in Market Square, Church Street and Irish Street, Dungannon.

(GK/KMcA)