Ambitious Saintfield park gets £1m boost

Ambitious Saintfield park gets £1m boost

10 April 2024

SAINTFIELD’S new community heritage park is to become a reality after a near £1m boost.

A three-acre site behind the town’s community centre –where there is an early 19th century windmill tower, flour mill and miller’s cottage – will be home to the new park.

The ambitious Windmill Field development will focus on stabilising the buildings, which are of key heritage importance in the area, ahead of the heritage park’s anticipated opening at the end of next year.

Saintfield Community Association officials are delighted that the hard work of so many people has paid off and welcomed confirmation that their application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a grant to provide the new park has been successful.  

The final design for the park takes into account feedback from public consultations over the past few years and provides access for all abilities from the community centre car park to the higher ground in the park, including two interpretation panels and viewing points for the windmill and railway track bed.  

Seats for relaxation and informal meeting places will be placed in the centre of the park and the lower area includes paths to access the river. 

And there is also an area for outdoor classes for young people to learn about the environment.  

The old railway track bed is being maintained as a wildlife corridor and a wetland area will be created to improve the biodiversity of the site, while nesting boxes for birds and bats will be added to the buildings and trees and there will be plantings for pollinators. 

With enough volunteer interest, patches of cereals such as those grown and milled in wind and water mills 200 years ago will be planted along with varieties of fruit trees.

The project will include recruiting a community engagement and social media officer, who will implement a programme of activities to engage people of all ages in the new park.

In addition, some volunteers will be trained as guides for visitors to the park and the wider Saintfield area.

Project leader Martyn Todd said it was “great” that all the work over the past decade should come to fruition by the end of 2025.

“This will provide an excellent community park, with Saintfield’s industrial heritage highlighted, for local people and visitors to enjoy, for generations to come,” he explained.

He thanked everyone involved, including the community group’s park project team and board members, the consultant team and Rowallane councillors for their continuing support. 

Mr Todd said special thanks are due to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and American businessman David Moffett “without whom this project could not have happened”.

Mr Moffett, whose ancestors left Saintfield in the 18th century, provided the community group with a generous donation which helped purchase the Windmill Field in 2020.

He has also visited the town many times and researched his family history and its links to Leggygowan and Saintfield.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Northern Ireland Director, Dr Paul Mullan, said the organisation was “delighted to support Saintfield Community Association to create the area’s first free-to-access community park, with its fascinating industrial heritage at its heart.” 

He continued: “Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, this project will secure the future of the historic windmill and buildings and open up a green space for everyone to enjoy.” 

The site for the park contains the only surviving buildings of an industrial complex from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The historic windmill was built in 1803 and operated until 1839, when the sails were blown off in the infamous ‘Big Wind’ and never repaired.

Local people say it is a testament to the high-quality work of the stone masons that the tower is in such good condition today.

Meanwhile, the two water mills in the area and another windmill on Todd’s Hill, Ballyaugherty, have already been demolished, making it all the more important to prevent the surviving windmill from falling into total disrepair.  

A team of volunteers has been working for 10 years to provide the shared outdoor space for the residents of the Saintfield area with the community group looking for new volunteers who would like to be a part of the exciting project. 

For more information, visit  www.discoversaintfield.com.