Neighbourhood Renewal delay threatens vital work

LATEST, 21 Oct 2008: see this article on the meeting held on Friday 17 October.

15 Oct 2008, 5:45pm: At a meeting with Margaret Ritchie this afternoon, the Minister was able to confirm that letters of offer were issued today and several groups have already signed off on them and returned them to the Belfast Regeneration Office (BRO). Officials are now processing these claims. The Minister said that further claims will be processed as soon as they are returned to BRO and there is every possibility that money will be released as early as next week. She also set a target of the end of November for processing any existing applications that were not included in today's announcement.

A senior official from BRO will come along to the meeting scheduled for 2.00pm on Friday 17 October in NICVA to explain the process and answer questions. The meeting with the Minister also discussed issues around category 2 posts and commitment from other Departments. There will be feedback from that discussion at Friday's meeting.

If you plan to come along on Friday it would be helpful if you could let Lisa McElherron know.

15 Oct 2008

: Minister Ritchie announces £7million for 15 Neighbourhood Renewal projects in Belfast. Around 80 contracts will be issued this week. The Minister promises to ensure that payment is processed quickly. NICVA and a delegation of community representatives from across Belfast will meet the Minister this afternoon to discuss the details of this announcement and the future development of Neighbourhood Renewal in general. NICVA has issued a Press Release.

13 Oct 2008

: Minister Ritchie's office has been in contact to rearrange the meeting with community representatives which was due to be held on Monday 13 October at 5.00. The new date for the meeting is Wednesday 15 at 4.30. As far as we are aware the Minister is meeting with DSD officials on the afternoon of 15 October to discuss NR. NICVA is calling on the Minister to ensure there is immediate action on this issue regardless of when any meeting takes place.

Over 150 people from voluntary and community groups across Belfast gathered in NICVA to discuss the current funding crisis arising from ongoing delays in Neighbourhood Renewal. Speaking at the meeting Seamus McAleavey, Chief Executive of NICVA said:

Loss of services

The meeting heard from organisations providing vital services in areas such as early years, training and employment services, advice provision, befriending and community safety initiatives for older people, all of which are at risk of losing staff and volunteers. Community representatives pointed out that while the potential loss of over 200 jobs was devastating in itself, the knock on effect of the loss of the services provided to communities will be immense.

Delays and red tape

Contributors to the meeting said they were puzzled by this last minute and unexpected delay in a programme which has been dogged by claims of unnecessary red tape and unacceptable delays in basic administration. One worker from the early years sector expressed the mood of the meeting when she said:

Political challenge

Representatives from all of the main political parties attended the meeting and spoke in support of the organisations, many of whom face closure at the end of October as the overdrafts, loans and donations that they have used to sustain their work while waiting to receive their Neighbourhood Renewal contracts dry up. Sinn Fein MLA Caral Ni Chuilin challenged the other political representatives present to join her in a cross party delegation to meet the Minister to discuss the current crisis and the ongoing difficulties relating to the administration of Neighbourhood Renewal.

Next step

It was agreed that a delegation of voluntary and community representatives from across Belfast would join NICVA to meet the Minster on Monday and seek answers to the questions raised at the meeting.

For more information contact Lisa McElherron on 028 9087 7777 or lisa.mcelherron@nicva.org.