Speaking after the announcement that Castlewellan Community Centre has had a major grant windfall Sinn Féin MLA Chris Hazzard welcomed the move saying this was excellent news for Castlewellan.
He added: “I am delighted to announce that approval has been given for the refurbishment of the Community Centre in Castlewellan.
“The local Community Centre applied to the Social Investment Fund (OFMDFM) to invest in much needed community facilities for Castlewellan.
“The OFMDFM have now confirmed to me that approval is in place and letters of offer will be sent as soon as possible. This brings SIF funding in the South Eastern area to nearly £7 million.
“I have been pressing OFMDFM for this application to be approved and I’m delighted for local people in the Castlewellan area that we have got a favourable outcome.
“The building used to house a primary school which served the needs of young people in Castlewellan for a hundred years. Now hopefully, this renovation means that young people can benefit for the next 100 years.
“This is great news for local volunteers and community activists who have made the best out of substandard facilities. They deserve every opportunity to make the most of what will be state of the art resource for the people of Castlewellan.”
Cllr Stevie Burns said: “I want to thank OFMDFM for working with Castlewellan Community Partnership in getting this project over the line. This investment will enable us to entirely revamp one of Castlewellan’s most popular facilities, and I can assure OFMDFM that local residents are delighted that we have reached this stage.
“We have big plans for community facilities in the town so this investment will provide a first-class platform for us to continue to meet the leisure needs of the local community in the years going forward.
“The refurbishment of the community centre is only the start of the Masterplan for this site; so we look forward now to the construction process and moving on to secure Phase2 in the years ahead.”
