Saintfield Community Centre plans get approval

Saintfield Community Centre plans get approval

21 June 2017

A BUSINESS plan for the new Saintfield Community Centre has been given the green light.

The plans for a centre, indoor 3G facility and outdoor 2G pitch, that will involve £1.5m of council funding, were approved at a council committee meeting on Monday.

The Saintfield community recently united to reject a surprise council plan to strip a 3G indoor training pitch from the £1.5m project and the business plan confirms that the 3G pitch is back on the table.

“Saintfield 3G facility is forecast to be a self-sustaining and viable enterprise with positive financial and social impact for the Saintfield and wider district council area,” the business plan reads.

On the centre as a whole, the business plan states: “Saintfield Community Centre is forecast to be a self-sustaining and viable enterprise with positive financial and social impact for the Saintfield and wider district council area.”

The project was originally initiated by the Saintfield Development Association and is being supported by the recently formed Saintfield Community Centre Trust, which has been handed the task of overseeing the delivery and running of the much-needed facility.

At Monday’s meeting of the Active and Healthy Communities committee, Alliance councillor Patrick Brown said it was something that had been mooted “before he was even born”.

“It is fantastic finally to see it almost reach fruition,” he said.

Councillor Brown said he was also delighted to see the 3G pitch firmly in the business plan.

“There is no need to trade off one pitch against the other,” he said.

“I want to pay tribute to community members who have tirelessly driven this forward and the Saintfield Community Development Association. Saintfield is currently the largest town in Northern Ireland without a community centre. This has been hard won and will be much used.”

Sinn Fein councillor Stephen Burns said: “It is wonderful that Saintfield has got to this stage of the business case.”

SDLP councillor Terry Andrews said he also wanted to pay tribute to the “resilience and determination of the people”.

DUP councillor Billy Walker said: “I have seen the hard work that our officers have put in. Our officers over the last year have gone the extra mile.”