Connect2 A Slice of £50m Lottery Cake for Northern Ireland

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The first opportunity to help bring a slice of a £50 million Big Lottery Fund grant to Northern Ireland starts today - so everyone is encouraged to get online to support Sustrans’ Connect2, and transform walking and cycling across Northern Ireland by going to www.thepeoples50million.org.uk and voting for Sustrans’ Connect2.

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By going to www.thepeoples50million.org.uk and voting for Sustrans’ Connect2 everyone can help bring new local travel routes to the doorstep

The first opportunity to help bring a slice of a £50 million Big Lottery Fund grant to Northern Ireland starts today - so everyone is encouraged to get online to support Sustrans’ Connect2, and transform walking and cycling across Northern Ireland.

By going to www.thepeoples50million.org.uk and voting for Sustrans’ Connect2 everyone can help bring new local travel routes to the doorstep, making it easier for millions of people: both locally, and across the UK to walk and cycle for everyday journeys. Internet voting starts today, Monday 26 November, at 9.00 am and closes at 12 noon on Monday 10 December.

About the contest

79 communities around the UK, including six schemes in Northern Ireland would benefit from the sustainable transport charity winning the £50 million grant in the Big Lottery Fund’s: The People’s £50 Million contest in December.

Connect2 would build bridges, foot and cycle paths, and even reinstate a ferry, giving people easier and healthier access to their schools, workplaces, shops, parks and countryside. Connect2 is competing against 3 other organisations, with the winner being decided by public vote.

About Connect2

Map of Connect2's projects

Connect2 is the only competing project that will distribute funding within Northern Ireland with 10% of the population living within 1 mile of the Connect2 projects in Ballymoney, Derry ~ Londonderry, Dungannon, Newtownabbey, Omagh and Strabane.

Northern Ireland’s £3.1million share of Big Lottery funding would facilitate the construction of walking and cycling bridges, the installation of a bridge over a railway line, build riverside paths and extend traffic free walking and cycle paths giving us more opportunities to walk and cycle in our everyday lives.

Sustrans’ Chief Executive John Grimshaw says,

"Now’s your chance to make sure some of that £50 million Lottery money benefits people here in Northern Ireland. Log on and register at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk and vote for Sustrans’ Connect2, and get your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

A vote for Connect2 is a vote for a healthier more sustainable future, for us - and our children: just a minute of your time could make all the difference. And if you don’t have access to the internet, look for the programme about Connect2 on ITV1 on 4 December, or text Connect2 to 80010 or call us on lo-call number 0845 058 13 73 and we’ll send you the vote line number as soon as we know on 7 December.”

Broadcaster Jon Snow (Channel 4 News) says,

"I’m backing Sustrans’ Connect2 Lottery bid to bring good news to the UK’s pedestrians and cyclists. Connect2 will make a real difference to communities across the UK, giving more people, including schoolchildren and commuters, the chance to travel in ways which benefit their health and the environment."

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly is leading the Connect2 bid, along with former minister Charles Clarke. Connect2 is also supported by author Bill Bryson, designer Wayne Hemingway and actor Alistair McGowan, among others.

Each of the bids will be highlighted in programmes on ITV1 in the week commencing 3 December. Sustrans’ Connect2 will be featured on 4 December. The winner will be announced on 12 December.

For more information about Connect2 visit www.sustransconnect2.org.uk, call 0845 058 13 73 or text Connect2 to 80010.


Sustrans | Kathryn Magee | 26 Nov 2007
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