Four-year action plan for estate

The package was announced by Social Development Minister David Hanson

A housing estate in Ballymena is to benefit from a £4.75m improvement scheme, Social Development Minister David Hanson has said.

The four-year scheme in Dunclug begins in January and will include a new link road and playpark and improvements to housing and street lighting.

Mr Hanson said the work would entail "some demolition and new build".

An additional full-time police officer will be assigned to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

Mr Hanson said that when he visited Dunclug earlier this year he was "presented with a powerful picture of a community in crisis and an area that was declining at a worrying rate".

"I set up a task force to look at Dunclug's needs to see what could be done to stop this deterioration," he said.

"I am glad to be able to say that the taskforce has delivered an excellent action plan for Dunclug."

The action plan announced by the minister includes £500,000 for a new fund for community-based projects in Dunclug.

"This investment in Dunclug will complement what we are doing in other parts of Ballymena under the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, where we have already spent or committed £3.65 million," he said.

The scheme was welcomed by the Mayor of Ballymena, James Alexander, who said: "I am sure that the action plan will make a difference to the area and the environment in which the people of Dunclug live and that the local community will welcome it wholeheartedly."

Barry Gordon of the Dunclug Partnership said the minister had "seen for himself the problems the area is facing".

"I would like to thank him very much for listening to the community," he said.

"I am looking forward to seeing the action plan being delivered on the ground and making a difference to Dunclug."