I notice there are increasingly more ‘community hubs’ being planned for local towns and villages. Fine examples include New Gate Arts & Culture Centre in Derry/Londonderry which was redeveloped by QMAC Construction Ltd to provide space for a new theatre, cafe, dance studio, and multi-purpose rooms.
In Bushmills, a former listed courthouse is currently being brought back to life by Martin & Hamilton Ltd as a new community hub. It will provide visitor facilities, retail space, a café, shared community space, and meeting rooms. Most importantly, it will become a new focal point for the community in that locality. The pandemic prompted people to spend more time in their local communities and value community life. The new coffee culture in society has resulted in a coffee bar becoming the meeting place in such buildings, which is great to see. In towns and villages there are so many old buildings that would be perfect for regeneration.
My home village of Dundrum has a disused former schoolhouse along Main Steet. It would make an ideal new community space for the villagers to enjoy. There are many grants available for projects which involve the restoration and reuse of old listed buildings, such as the Historic Environment Fund, made available via the Department for Communities, to repair and regenerate historic buildings.
We are going to see a lot more regeneration in the years ahead. I think such initiatives should be welcomed and fully embraced.