Ards and North Down Councillor Joe Boyle has welcomed the £250k resurfacing scheme on the Shore Road in Portaferry which commenced this week.
He said: “After a has number of years lobbying the DRD and now Transport NI Officials for this improvement to what is an extremely important area in Portaferry, work has now begun. This location is used as a main route in Portaferry, and it also serves as the welcoming area for those visiting the town by either road or through the Strangford Ferry from this location then accessing everything the town has to offer including ‘ Exploris ‘ and the Portaferry Hotel.
“With the recent glorious weather the reality is that Portaferry along with Strangford Lough, with the Strangford Ferry operating and the views over to Strangford village and vice versa. it is a sight to behold and marvelled on by everyone visiting the location.
“Similar to that of many areas within the Ards and North Down Borough many places are worth visiting and are of great places to live, however, Portaferry and its surrounding hinterland is a much sought after area for visitors and tourists. This is driving an already very proactive community into providing even more events and activities for not only the local and surrounding population but also to attract more visitors to the area, something that the overall Ards Peninsula can and does benefit from.”
Cllr Boyle added: “Currently with four major schemes taking place involving the infrastructure improvements to Portaferry Shore Road, renovations to the Portaferry Sailing Club and Portaferry Market House along with additional investment to Exploris, this package represents a combined £1.25m investment within the community. Portico too is making a huge impact on local tourism and entertainments providing high quality events in a very exciting and unique setting.
“I would place on record my appreciation to all funding bodies and staff from within Transport NI, Ards and North Down Council, CRG Operators in Exploris, Portaferry Regeneration Ltd (PRL) along with representatives of Portaferry Sailing Club (PSC) and many other volunteers and groups for all the positive conversations and co-operation that I have received which has enabled the implementation of all of these projects.”
