Bid to boost rural areas across north Antrim

Houses will be targeted in a number of electoral wards including Armoy, Mosside, Moyarget, Ballylough, Bushmills, Carnmoon, Dunseverick, Glenariff, Glenaan, Glendun, Ballyhoe & Corkey and Benvardin.

North Antrim Community Network successfully tendered to deliver the programme and will establish a Project Team, Moyle Council was told.

A briefing paper prepared in December showed that the under the Programme for Government, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development was allocated over 10 million to address rural poverty and social exclusion.

It will look at things like rural childcare, rural fuel poverty, rural transport, rural community development and a challenge fund for projects that address rural poverty or social exclusion.

As part of the programme the aim is to improve the health and wellbeing of rural dwellers by increasing access to services/grants, benefits and measuring the impact by carrying out a health impact assessment.

The plan is to identify at least 350 households in the Ballymoney and Moyle council areas by using local knowledge to help people to access services and to provide follow-up support.

Another of the aims is to increase access to energy efficiency and housing grants for at least a quarter of the targeted households and to increase access to benefits for at least 16 per cent of targeted households.

A further aim is to increase access to a range of local services for at least half of the targeted households.

The briefing paper said: ‘Evidence and experience indicated that access to the most difficult to reach and those suffering greatest inequalities and disadvantage requires a more innovative, extensive and personal approach to that traditionally used.

‘Addressing issues as sensitive as poverty and exclusion requires a supportive and sympathetic approach that will build trust and commitment.’

The report said evidence from a pilot project carried out in Fermanagh and Tyrone suggested that visiting people in their homes and using a ‘personal touch’ encourages people to avail of services and grants which they would not otherwise have known about or been able to apply for.’

The 88 most deprived Council wards in Northern Ireland are being targeted.