Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey today has visited Coalisland to view progress of the Public Realm works which are due to be completed in the coming weeks.

The £4.275 million Coalisland Public Realm Scheme was approved by the Department in January 2019 and is providing funding of £3.72 million towards the scheme with Mid Ulster District Council contributing the remaining £553,000.

Speaking after viewing the scheme, Minister Hargey said: "With the Public Realm works in Coalisland nearing completion, the town centre already looks very impressive. Such a significant investment has the potential to bring a much needed feel good factor to traders, residents and visitors to the town. This scheme has been very positively received, particularly among those individuals with limited mobility who found the previous public realm difficult and unsafe to navigate.

"I want to make our towns much more accessible, safe and welcoming and in Coalisland I feel we have designed a scheme that will deliver on this. Now is the time to build on the positivity this scheme has created and promote Coalisland as a safe, shared, welcoming space for all."

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The Minister continued: "Over the past number of years my Department has demonstrated its firm commitment to supporting the work of the Mid Ulster District Council in delivering much needed urban regeneration across its town centres. This work was brought into very sharp focus during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 Recovery Revitalisation Programme was created to help and support our urban and rural businesses deal with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. It delivered funding of £1.45m and was supplemented by Mid Ulster District Council funding of £266,000 to support businesses across the Council area as they progress along the pathway from lockdown and is helping to provide a safe and enhanced shopping experience for all."

Cllr Paul McLean, Chair, Mid Ulster District Council added: "This is a significant level of investment in Coalisland and the work which is now almost complete has not only transformed the look and feel of the town centre, but crucially also addressed disability access and pedestrian safety issues.

"Public realm works of this scale and quality have never been more important as our town centres recover and re-open to welcome visitors back, and in a similar way, the Covid revitalisations grants which gave commercial premises the opportunity to adapt their buildings to help provide a safe environment for their customers and staff, have been critical to many businesses being able to change to meet new pandemic-related health and safety measures.

"So it is a pleasure not only to see the public realm works coming to an end but also to have the opportunity to meet some of the local people who have benefited from the grant funding and hear first-hand how the Department and the Council's funding has impacted so positively and in a very practical way."