Details of a new £5.1 million greenway to connect parks and open spaces in north and west Belfast have been announced.

Funded by the European Union (EU) Forth Meadow Community Greenway will create shared paths and cycle ways along a route starting at Clarendon Playing Fields and ending at the new Transport Hub in the city centre. Wayfinding and information signage, street furniture and public art will also be installed along the route, while key sites will be enhanced with landscaping and planting.

The project will be delivered by Belfast City Council following funding from the EU's PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding will be provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland. The redevelopment of Springfield Dam Park received additional funding from the Department for Communities.

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Lord Mayor Alderman Frank McCoubrey, said: "Forth Meadow Community Greenway is a really exciting project that will help regenerate local neighbourhoods along its 12 kilometre route.

"Alongside the capital project which will be completed in 2022, an imaginative community activity and events programme will be delivered at sections along the new greenway, with the aim of bringing communities together and promoting the use of the shared space.

"By encouraging residents to make more use of facilities in neighbouring areas, the new greenway and activity programme will also encourage interaction between communities that have been divided for too long. This supports the Belfast Agenda, the city’s community plan, which includes aims to regenerate neighbourhoods, improve community relations and create a welcoming, safe, fair and inclusive city for all."