Mayor of Newtownabbey Nigel Hamilton
Walking away
with £350,000
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Newtownabbey is to share in a £50million windfall after Sustrans’ UK-wide
Connect2 bid to transform local travel won a UK-wide public vote.
Newtownabbey Way, a walking and cycling path which will run from the
Shoreline to Mossley Mill, will now receive £350,000 from the Big Lottery
Fund’s: The People’s £50 Million contest. It was one of 79 schemes in the UK
to benefit.
Phases one and 2 two of the path along the shoreline and Glen Park are
enjoyed daily by thousands of residents and visitors. Work on phase three of
the route, Bleachgreen viaducts to Monkstown Wood, will start in January and
should be completed by June 2008.
Initially, phases four and five, Threemilewater Park and Mossley Mill, were
to follow consecutively but with the Newtownabbey Borough Council’s 50th
Anniversary next year the aim will be to finish it in 2008.
The Mayor of Newtownabbey Nigel Hamilton was delighted to hear that Connect2
had won the £50 million and that Newtownabbey would get £350,000.
Sustrans, a UK charity for sustainable transport, is running the Connect2
project, which also includes five other schemes in Northern Ireland.
He said: “This is a truly UK-wide project with schemes in England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Connect2 will get many more of us around foot
and by bike, enabling us to get fit and active and to reduce our carbon
footprint. We are really grateful to everyone who got behind Connect2 to
make their votes count.
“The council had mounted a public awareness campaign with information in our
Source magazine, articles in local papers, information on our web site and
banners and information displays around the area. TV coverage also
highlighted the benefits the completed Newtownabbey Way would bring to the
local area.
“We encouraged people to vote and ultimately they did. Thanks to everyone
who voted and to the schools and communities that are involved in the
project. The £50million will mean thousands of people who will now be able
to Connect2 their shops, schools, workplaces and each other every day across
the UK and Newtownabbey are a winner in this too.”
Connect2 defeated three other projects — Black Country Urban Park, Eden
Project; The Edge and Sherwood; and the Living Legend.
