Community Capacity Hubs

Project Name:	Community Capacity Hubs
Zone:	Northern
Category:	Capital
Social Investment Fund Outcome:	Increasing Community Services
Status:	Operational – Construction Complete
Funding awarded:	£1,405,766

About the Project:

This was a cluster project aimed at delivering the regeneration and refurbishment of a number of community facilities to make them fit for purpose and enable them to continue to provide services in the local community. A brief synopsis of each of the upgraded community facilities is as follows:

Moneymore Recreation Centre

Refurbishment works brought two additional meeting rooms, one of which is large enough to act as a studio for leisure classes, draught-proofing of the existing covered multi-use games area and adding air extraction, modernising of the reception, kitchen and toilet areas and improved accessibility with a passenger lift.

Broughderg Community Centre

Broughderg Community Centre was originally a derelict building which had been the subject of an energy audit stating that it was not compliant with Government regulations in terms of insulations, heating and energy use. Capital works addressed these issues with new heating and venitilation systems bringing the building back to a functioning hub for the community.

Ballymaquiggan Orange Hall

Ballymaquiggan Orange Hall was in need of renovations as the poor energy efficiency of the facilities made them unsustainable as a community facility. SIF funding included measures to improve water heating, lighting, draught proofing, insulation and heating systems allowing services to continue and increase.

Coagh Orange Hall

The refurbishment and upgrading work included an extension, which included a new meeting room, a new heating system, complete re-wiring, new flooring in the hall and throughout, a new kitchen, new toilet facilities, a computer room and complete redecoration throughout.

Castledawson War Memorial Hall

The refurbishment and upgrading work included a new heating system, complete re-wiring, re-rendering of front and rear elevations, new flooring, repairs to the stairs, refurbishment of two meeting rooms, two offices and hall, new kitchen and toilet facilities, new front wall and gates and complete redecoration throughout.

Progress to date:

This project has completed construction and is operational. These refurbishments will encourage improved health and wellbeing, sporting activities and provide community facilities in an improved shared space that is open to all in the local community. They will also complement existing community initiatives by meeting community need and providing a platform to build long-term community capacity within the SIF Northern zone. SIF funding has helped to rejuvenate the Moneymore and wider Mid Ulster area by bringing increased investment, promoting local recreational activity and by making a positive contribution to the social and economic prosperity of the area.

Impacts:

Monitoring and evaluation of all Social Investment Fund projects is carried out using “Outcomes Based Accountability” (OBA). Where SIF has funded capital works, the project provides quarterly “post-capital” data for a period of 3 years which details the positive impacts enabled by the capital works undertaken. The final capital infographic below highlights some of the key impacts of the build phase of the project to date. The Community Capacity Hubs project is in the early stages of post capital OBA returns and OBA data collection is ongoing for the final post capital infographic.