£2.6m funding windfall for community projects

The funding, approved at the organisation’s recent Board Meeting in County Donegal, includes £1.5m for 10 Peace Impact (PIP) projects that will assist marginalised communities to resolve complex issues relating to identity and the conflict.

A further £972k has been awarded across 11 Personal Youth Development projects that aim to encourage young people to make positive life choices, take part in good relations activities and pursue further education and training provision.

Meanwhile, the Fund’s Peace Walls Programme has granted £124,500 to Twaddell Ardoyne Shankill Communities in Transition (TASCIT) in support of efforts to build cross-community confidence and dialogue on interface barriers.

Some of the PIP projects in Northern Ireland that will receive funding include:

• £229,330 to Twaddell Woodvale Residents Association (TWRA). The group has received an extension to their project for a further two years, which will focus on building links with the nearby nationalist community, developing cross-border links with other PIP projects and playing a key role in the new Community Forum established as an outcome of the North Belfast Parades Agreement.

• £181,131 to Newtownabbey Arts & Cultural Network (NACN) for a two-year project which will work towards the regeneration of the Rathcoole estate to improve employability and skills.

• £192,675 to West Bann Development (WBD) for a two-year project that will operate across the Killowen/Heights area of Coleraine.