Taughmonagh Enterprise Centre
SIF provided funding of over £1.2m for the extension to existing premises at Taughmonagh Community Forum to create a Day Nursery expansion and Healthy Business Centre for both economic revitalisation and community healthy living provision for the local Taughmonagh community.
Project Name: | Taughmonagh Enterprise Centre |
|---|---|
Zone: | Belfast South |
Category: | Capital |
Social Investment Fund Outcome: | Increasing Community Services |
Status: | Operational – Construction Complete |
Funding awarded: | £1,210,471 |
About the Project
SIF funding enabled a Day Nursery expansion and Healthy Business Centre on an acquired site for both economic revitalisation and community healthy living provision for the local Taughmonagh community. The project involved the development of an existing car park space to create a 2 storey structure linked to the existing day nursery. The objective was to promote leisure, health, support community capacity, education, children’s services and training services for local residents. The project involved:
- an extension to Scribbles day nursery including: Baby room, cot rooms, baby feeding room, preschool specific room, creative play space and office space;
- conversion of the room at the rear of the existing community centre returning it to community use as an education and training centre;
- additional works to the existing building to create a sensory play room and toddlers room;
- creation of a healthy living centre with a gym, multipurpose hall, sports hall, and showers;
- creation of a new community meeting space to host health related services including counselling, advice workers and health promotion; and
- social economy renting to local business start-ups.
Progress to date
This project has completed construction and is operational. This project has delivered a welcoming space used to deliver much needed services including leisure, health, community capacity development, education, children’s services and training to the SIF Belfast South Zone. The new facility will help improve the lives of so many within the area, creating a central hub of vital community based services and enhancing the local vicinity. The centre is located close to the Taughmonagh SureStart which was also a SIF project, and this has helped to ensure that it is fully integrated into the overall community development and regeneration infrastructure and maximise the benefits to everyone in the locality. The project fostered working relationships with statutory bodies that has secured funding to provide administrative staff and personal trainers to deliver services within the centre for the local community.
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 project to date. The Taughmonagh Healthy Business project is in the early stages of post capital OBA returns and OBA data collection is ongoing for the final post capital infographic.
