A new family centre in north Belfast is beginning to take shape ahead of its opening this summer.

The £2.162 million Grace Family Centre on Alliance Avenue will provide families with childcare for up to 60 children, a counselling suite, a multi-functional training suite, a café and office space. The two-storey space will also serve as the new permanent home for Grace Women's Development Limited, which has provided vital services for women and their families in the area since 1984.

Local representatives were also offered a sneak-peek at the building and its advanced construction.

Speaking at the preview, Alderman Brian Kingston, Chair of Belfast City Council's Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, said: "I'm delighted to see construction work progressing so well on this outstanding new community asset for the city and the north Belfast area in particular.

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"The new facilities will have a huge impact on the lives of local women and their families when it opens later this year, enabling Grace Women's Development Limited to offer a wider range of learning and training opportunities that promote personal development, health and wellbeing."

Grace Family Centre will allow the female focused non-profit organisation to build on their success to date and offer a wider range of services which will benefit local women, their families and the wider community.

This project is being delivered with £1.464m invested from the Council through its Belfast Investment Fund (BIF) which aims to encourage partners to co-invest in projects that develop or regenerate facilities for people who live in, invest in or visit the city. It is further supported with £553,000 funding from the Department for Communities and a further £145,000 from The Executive Office's Urban Villages Initiative.

Grace Family Centre is expected open in late summer 2020.

(CM/MH)