A new community hall has been officially opened in Maghaberry following an investment of £550,000.

The state-of-the-art community facility is located on land made available by housing developers Lewis and Coulter, with the necessary funding being provided by Lisburn City Council, Rural Development Council NI and Maghaberry Community Association.

The total cost of the project was £550,000, of which the major funder Lisburn City Council contributed £380,000; the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation managed by the Northern Ireland Rural Development Council provided £150,000 and the Maghaberry Community Association the remaining balance of £20,000.

-- Advertisement --

Councillor David Archer, Chairman of the Council's Leisure Services Committee, said: "I am delighted to see this 'Satellite Community Centre' operational and would like to thank all those involved in bringing this project to fruition.

"I would like to request the continued assistance of the local community and the Maghaberry Community Association to ensure the facility is kept in a suitable manner and successfully managed," he added.

Kenneth Rankin, of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Council, said: "This is a superb example of a local community operating in partnership with its local council to address the needs of the Maghaberry Community to provide an excellent, neutral community facility for everyone to use.

"Under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, RDC is very proud to have played a role in supporting this project. It is one of 67 funded through our Peace II Extension Programme and joins a total of 441 projects that RDC is currently working with providing a total investment into rural Northern Ireland of almost £23m."

(PR/JM)