£37,000 revamp for three play and kickabout areas

Mid Ulster children now have more places to play with the completion of upgrade works to play parks and kickabout areas at Glenone, Swatragh and the Loup.

Each village received an investment of £37K from the EU Rural Development ‘LEADER’ Programme.

The programme was delivered by Mid Ulster Rural Development Partnership on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, with Mid Ulster Council providing 25 per cent of the funding.

The investment in Glenone provided a new playpark for the village to enjoy, with equipment including, swings, a multi-play unit, inclusive roundabout, springers, safety surfacing and new fencing.

Swatragh’s existing playpark received enhancement works with the addition of new inclusive play equipment including, a rotaweb climbing frame, roundabout, gravity bowl and new safety surfacing.

Completed works in the Loup have seen the creation of a new kick about area with synthetic grass pitch, and new fencing beside Kilreish housing estate.

Chair of Mid Ulster Council, Councillor Martin Kearney, visited the villages and commented on the completed works: “Glenone, Swatragh and the Loup are the most recent villages to benefit from 37 village renewal projects across the district, supported by the Council and Mid Ulster Rural Development Partnership (Local Action Group).

“Play is an important part of a child’s development, helping to build social skills,make new friends and be active all at once.

“At this time of year especially when kids have returned to school, it‘s important that they have the chance to play and have fun after a busy day at school. The two newly upgraded play parks and kick about area are fantastic resources to the local community, and I hope that children across Mid Ulster enjoy using them.”

Chair of Mid Ulster Rural Development Partnership, Conor Corr, added: “Over the course of this current Rural Development Programme, we will see an investment of over £2.15m in funding directed towards rural towns and villages from across the length and breadth of the district to make them better places to live and work in.

“This is what village renewal is about – local people making decisions on the actions they believe will be of greatest benefit to the community.”

A total of 37 village renewal projects in Mid Ulster will benefit from an investment totalling £716K over four years.

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