Press Release

Mayor launches Future’s Present - A Village Vision for Newbuildings

Friday, 08 December 2006

The Mayor, Councillor Helen Quigley will officiate at the launch of the Derry City Council Arts and Regeneration Programme “Future’s Present A village vision” at Newbuildings Community & Environmental Association, 4 Duncastle Road today, Friday 08 December 2006 at 4 pm.

The Vision has been created as part of a community arts initiative organised by the Derry City Council Arts and Regeneration Programme in partnership with the Newbuildings Community & Environmental Association.

Belfast Artist Helen McAleer who worked with schools, youth groups, history and ecology groups as well as women and representatives from all local groups and organisations facilitated the process. The arts activity was delivered between September and November as part of Derry City Council’s Arts and Regeneration Programme aimed at encouraging people living and working in the area to help create a vision of how they would like to see local spaces developed.

Praising the project, the Mayor said it was a wonderful example of partnership between the Derry City Council the Arts Council for Northern Ireland, the Newbuildings Community & Environmental Association and local residents, community organisations and schools.

“This is an excellent project which encourages the local community to take an active part in the development of their area. The arts are an excellent way to allow the local community of Newbuildings to express themselves creatively and have their ideas and thoughts acknowledged through the publication of their Vision.”

Alice McCartney, Arts and Regeneration Officer with Derry City Council explained that as part of the process, the artist worked with each group gathering and developing ideas from the community, Helen then found inventive ways of presenting the ideas of children, adults and organisations in a feedback day so the community could look at the diverse and imaginative ideas within their community ranging from footbridges, sculpture, a village square and even a caravan park.

The Mayor added that community led initiatives such as this were a wonderful way of involving the community in the development of their area. “It gives people a sense of ownership and pride in the work they have done and in the area that they live.”

Over the coming months the vision created through the Arts and Regeneration Programme will be made available to statutory and community organizations responsible for the delivery of neighborhood renewal and will act as a model of good practice and a potential starting point for the inclusion of the local vision in the overall development of the Newbuildings area.

“ Derry City Council looks forward to continuing this successful partnership and to developing equally successful and creative future partnerships in the Arts and Regeneration projects initiated for year two of this three-year programme,” the Mayor added.

Ends

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