East Belfast Project’s £23.5m Big Lottery Fund Award

Greater East Belfast Partnership will use the grant to connect 379 acres of public open space, build 43 bridges and create 19kms of cycle and walkways. The project will benefit more than 40,800 people living in the area, improving the living environment and providing opportunities for leisure, exercise, recreation and supporting healthier lifestyles.

The £23.5 million grant will also be used to develop a 9km linear park through east Belfast, following the course of the Connswater, Knock and Loop rivers, connecting people and places from Castlereagh Hills to Belfast Lough.

Breidge Gadd, NI Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “After lots of hard work from the projects and some extremely tough decisions taken by the Living Landmarks committee we are delighted to announce the three successful initiatives. I’m looking forward to seeing these truly ground-breaking projects come to life and capturing the imagination of the surrounding communities and individuals across the country.”

Sammy Douglas from the Greater East Belfast Partnership said: “Everyone across Northern Ireland is absolutely delighted in getting this vote of confidence from the lottery to provide new opportunities for our communities through the development of the Connswater Community Greenway which will turn the rivers and open spaces into community assets and provide a living landmark for our children.”

Due to decades of underinvestment in the area the open spaces alongside the rivers are underused, inaccessible, unsafe and unconnected to the communities. The Connswater Community Greenway will create a safe, welcoming and open public space for residents and visitors to East Belfast.

An even bigger grant from the Big Lottery Fund of up to £50 million is to be decided in December as part of The People’s £50 Million contest. Four projects will be screened on ITV1 during the week commencing 3rd December, before being put to the public vote to decide which project wins the cash. In the running are Black Country as Urban Park; The Edge at the Eden Project; Sherwood: The Living Legend; and Sustrans' Connect2. Further details can be found at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk

One applicant with a Northern Ireland element is Sustrans’ Connect2, which comprises 79 practical projects across the UK. Projects range from walking and cycling bridges to tunnels and ferries, all designed to overcome obstacles like busy roads and rivers to make journeys easier, reuniting people and taking them to the places they’d like to be. Connect2 covers some of the most deprived areas of the UK, as well as some of the most scenic.

If successful, six of the Sustrans Connect2 projects would be in Northern Ireland – Ballymoney, Derry, Strabane, Omagh, Dungannon and Newtownabbey.