£0.9m investment package to provide boost for Templepatrick, Doagh and Burnside

Templepatrick, Doagh and Burnside will be spruced up as part of a Covid Recovery Small Settlements Regeneration Programme after the borough council secured funding of £776,000. The authority will provide the sum of £86,200

The programme is managed by the Department for Communities (DfC), Department of Finance (DfI) and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

Seven traders in Templepatrick, nine in Doagh and two in Burnside have expressed an interest in a shop front “revitalisation”. The council has agreed that £86,200 be used to support the roll-out of this initiative. This is likely to include new signage, doors, windows, paintwork or decorating and new planting or window dressing.

A £220,000 illumination scheme seeks to shine a light on historic buildings in Templepatrick in a bid to “promote the architectural heritage of the area”.

Earmarked for the scheme are the War Memorial Orange Hall;  Old Presbyterian Church; entrance gateway to Castle Upton; St. Patrick’s Parish Church; Masonic Hall; the former Royal Irish Constabulary Station; old railway station and parish hall.

Separately, Antrim Old Courthouse will be illuminated by a strip light after a planning application was  approved at this month’s meeting of the local authority’s Planning Committee.

Meanwhile, a  decision to cast Randalstown Viaduct in a new light has been deferred by the council’s Planning Committee.

The authority has proposed installing six lighting columns four metres in height with the lighting colour being “warm white”.

A £425k environmental programme is also planned for the three villages. Artwork, sculptures and signage will also be installed. Each site is to be assessed for suitability with work to commence in October.

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey commented previously: “This collaborative programme is supporting regeneration projects which will make our small towns and villages more appealing, accessible, vibrant and welcoming.

“The programme will complement efforts to help rural communities and settlements recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic, by investing in facilities and infrastructure and improving place-making.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter