An investment totaling over £1.7m has been made available for the upgrade of Antrim town centre.

The streets marked for improvement include Market Square, High Street and Church Street.

The scheme will involve:
 a new bus lane,
 tree planting,
 new street lighting and furniture, and
 re-paving of pavements and kerbs in high quality materials.

All of this will enhance the town centre's visual appearance and be in keeping with the historic nature of the town.

Meanwhile the Square will be redesigned to accommodate public events. The Square is in a conservation area and is adjacent to the recently refurbished 'Old Courthouse' which now hosts a theatre, café and the tourist information centre.

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A bus lane will greatly enhance vitality and increase pedestrian numbers in this area of the town, as well as creating additional parking and easing congestion in High Street.



Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland announced the funding.

He said: "The town will benefit greatly from these planned improvements to the public realm. This kind of regeneration provides new opportunities for all visitors, retailers and residents.

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The Mayor of Antrim, Councillor Paul Michael said: "The Council is delighted that this major scheme has been approved as it will help us realise a crucial part of the Masterplan that we put in place for Antrim town centre in 2005.

"We are looking forward to seeing the works get underway early in the New Year so that both residents and business owners can see the real benefits of working in partnership to regenerate our towns and villages."

(LB/BMcC)