The new £450,000 Kitty’s Road Community Centre in Kilkeel was officially opened on Friday 9 August by Newry Mourne and Down District Chairperson, Councillor Charlie Casey, along with local councillors and community representatives.
The new centre consists of a main hall, two games rooms, office and toilet facilities, with the Main Hall offering a facility suitable for a wide range of activities and initiatives designed to improve the health and wellbeing of local residents.
Newry Mourne and Down Council chairperson Charlie Casey said, “I am delighted to be here today to open this new community facility. The difference between this new centre and the old mobile unit it replaces could not be greater and I am pleased that the Kitty’s Road Community Association and the Council’s Community Services department were successful in securing funding for it.
“One of the Council’s key aims is to provide high quality community facilities and to explore partnership opportunities to ensure sustainability of Community Services. We are also committed to building community capacity to empower local people to effect change within their local areas. This beautiful state-of-the-art building is an excellent example of partnership working between statutory and voluntary groups which will benefit the whole community.”
The new centre will be managed by Kitty’s Road Community Association through a Facility Management Agreement with the council.
Laura Spiers, Chairperson of Kitty’s Road Community Association said, “This is the start of a new era for the community of Kitty’s Road, we now have excellent facilities within our doorstep that will be a benefit to all.
“It was a long and hard road to bring this project to completion and although I speak to you today as the chair of Kitty’s Road Community Association, I want to pay tribute to the volunteers of the Association who were the driving force for the community at the beginning.”
