Community centre hub in Saintfield may receive £1m boost

Community centre hub in Saintfield may receive £1m boost

25 January 2023

NEWLY co-opted Rowallane councillor Callum Bowsie has been provided with an update on progress on Saintfield’s new community park project.

He met recently with Saintfield Community Association community engagement officer Emma Duncan and was given a tour of the site which is the windmill field immediately behind the town’s community centre.

The new park will be designed to provide a much-needed “green and safe space” where residents can relax and socialise in the open air with the proposed design expected to be made public this year.

It’s understood that close to £1m could eventually be invested in the park which has already secured formal planning approval, with the Heritage Lottery Fund providing £136,000 towards development costs. 

A second grant of around £750,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund is also a distinct possibility but this can only be applied for when work on the project’s initial phase has been completed, while the Department for Infrastructure is providing £10,000 under its so-called Living Places and Spaces programme.

The ambitious community regeneration project is being spearheaded by the Saintfield Development Association which recently merged with the town’s Community Trust to form the new Saintfield Community Association.

The new park is located adjacent to the site of the historic Battle of Saintfield which took place in June 1798 with the field that will house the new park purchased as the result of a very generous donation from David Moffett, a successful American executive whose ancestors lived in Leggygowan during the 17th and 18th centuries.

A feature within the proposed community park is a derelict four-storey windmill built in 1803 and operative until 1839 — when one of the worst storms in Irish history less than a week into the New Year — blew off the sails which were never replaced.

Cllr Bowsie thanked Emma for inviting him to discuss plans for the windmill park project and the tour of the site.

“I have taken a keen interest in this project since its launch in 2020,” he explained.

“Back then, I was able to provide the group with some historical information on the old windmill in relation to the Big Storm in order to help them with their funding bid. I’m pleased to see how this project has progressed.

“This project has been made possible by Mr Moffett and it’s great that Heritage Lottery funding has also been granted to preserve the old windmill, with some money from the Department for Infrastructure.”

Describing his meeting as “informative”, Cllr Bowsie it also focused on some of the concerns that have and may arise and how these can be alleviated to make the community park project a success.