DOWN District received a double boost tonight when almost £20m of projects were given the go-ahead by the most powerful committee in the new Newry, Mourne and Down super council.
Work will get underway in March on the new £15m Down Leisure Centre and contractors are expected to move on site to begin work on the new £4m Saintfield Community Centre in June.
The council's Finance and Resources Committee tonight ended weeks of uncertainty by formally approving both projects which are being viewed as the outgoing Down Council's major legacy projects. Both schemes must still be approved by the full council but this is being viewed as a formality.
The decision to approve the projects, particularly the new leisure centre in Downpatrick, was welcomed by Down councillors Dermot Curran, Stephen Burns, William Walker and Terry Andrews who are members of the Finance and Resources Committee.