Rural development projects across Ards and North Down have been boosted with new funding of £900,000.

DAERA Minister Edwin Poots announced the new funding from his Department's LEADER NI Rural Development Programme while visiting a number of projects in the region.

The Minister began his visit in Ballygowan Village Hall, which has been substantially renovated and upgraded through a £181,000 award from the Village Renewal Scheme.

He then travelled to Beechvale Nursing Home in Killinchy which received a contribution of £90,000 from the Business Investment Scheme towards a £600,000 scheme to provide 11 new en-suite bedrooms and a day room. Approximately 11 new jobs have been created as a result of this investment.

Minister Poots' final stop was to view the results of a £430,000 redevelopment of Killinchy Community Park as well as the Killinchy Community and Enterprise Hub. The Park included the installation of outdoor gym equipment, a new adventure play area, a new play area with seating, fencing and hedging, dog agility park, nature area including seating and picnic benches, a wildflower meadow and native planting, an informal kickabout space with improved drainage and installation of a pump track.

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At the Killinchy Community and Enterprise Hub, the Minister was shown the new two-storey community building with a museum on the bottom floor and rentable community space on the top floor which will be used for a range of activities including after schools provision. It is hoped that one new job will be created through this project, which received a grant of £200,000 from the Basic Services Scheme and a further £70,000 from the Ulster Scots Agency.

Welcoming the overall investment in the schemes, Minister Poots said: "The schemes I visited today represent an investment of over £900,000 from DAERA which, coupled with other funds that have been levered in, brings the total to almost £1.5m. These schemes have helped create employment, sustain groups and provide enhanced community facilities and services for the residents, both young and old, of Ards and North Down.

"I am delighted that despite the many recent challenges brought about by the Covid-19 crisis these projects have been completed. I want to thank all those involved for all their hard work and dedication in bringing these to fruition."

Councillor Joe Boyle, Chairman of Ards and North Down Rural Partnership, which is the Local Action Group tasked with delivering the Rural Development Priority 6 funding in the Council region, added: "The Rural Development Programme has made a very significant difference to rural communities in the Ards and North Down Borough. £3.3m of grant aid has been delivered to date with a further £0.9m to be provided by the end of the Programme in 2022 across 78 projects. This has supported 31 businesses and helped to create 45 FTE jobs to date along with a wide range of Basic Services and Village Renewal Schemes. These projects provide both economic and social value to our area.

"We welcome the Minister to Ballygowan and Killinchy and are very grateful to him and his Department for assisting the Local Action Group in administering this essential funding in our rural area."