Work starts on multi-purpose play park for Windermere

The play park will facilitate all of the housing developments in the Ballymacash area, including Windermere and Mourneview.

The project is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and is costing a total of £300,000 with Ulida Housing contributing £47,000 towards the cost of the play park and a total of £250,000 being made available for a mini 3G pitch by Lisburn City Council.

The sports pitch will be used during the day by Ballymacash Primary School and in the evenings and weekends by local community.

Lagan Valley MLA Jonathan Craig welcomed the start of work. “This initiative will result in a brand new playground complete with a sports pitch for use by the local community, to include Ballymacash Primary School” he said.

“This represents a major investment in the community at this time.

“I believe it is a good deal for all involved and represents a major asset for the entire community.

“I commend Ulida Housing for putting up the money and I also want to praise Jimmy Millar in particular for his work with this project on behalf of the Lisburn North Community Association as well as the Windermere Community Association and North Lisburn Community Investment Group. All of these groups will be sharing the facilities along with a local sports club.”

Delighted

MLA Paul Givan was also delighted to see work begin on the site. “This new playground and sports pitch will be open for use by local schools whose budgets have been slashed recently leaving them severely stretched in terms of resources. It will also be open for members of the general public in the evening and weekends” he said.

Lisburn’s Deputy Mayor, Alderman William Leathem added: “It is important that we promote open spaces and encourage our children to get active at a time when child obesity is on the increase. This is excellent news for the local community.”

The local politicians also welcomed the news that the entrance onto the Prince William Road, which will be used during the construction of new social housing in the area has now been completed.