Ballycastle could benefit from cash

He was commenting after receiving a letter from the Moyle Council.

In a letter back to the Council, Mr Attwood said: ‘As mentioned in your letter, it is essential that the North Coast is presented in the best possible light. That is why I was pleased to be in a position to contribute to a programme of work to improve Portrush and Portstewart with the aim that both towns maximise the long-term benefits for the local economy.’

Mr Attwood also said that he would ‘very much like to extend that principle to other districts such as Moyle District Council, which are suffering similar problems’ and that ‘such projects can only be tackled if supporting funding is available.’

He added: ‘I did so in relation to Derry in June. However my bid for £800k was declined. I have advised the Minister of Finance and personnel that I shall submit a further bid in September Monitoring but broaden its scale and ambition. Your council may wish to forward proposals in that regard but have to advise that any DOE bid will have to be rigorous, targeted and acknowledge the difficult economic circumstance but be an attempt to put more central monies into our heritage.