Kilcooley Community Forum: New Decade for Development

FORUM

21 July, 2010

New Minister for Social Development Visits Kilcooley

Minister Alex Attwood visited Kilcooley yesterday

On arrival to Kilcooley the Minister was met by Eileen Bell and Mark Gordon (Community Development Manager) who escorted him across Kilcooley Square, where unwittingly the sound of a Lambeg greeted him, as a shared history music class was taking place in the Bangor Alternatives office. Entering Kilcooley Primary School and the Women’s Centre the Minister was given a brief tour by Alison Blayney before entering the assembly hall where he was well received by the invited guests from Kilcooley Community Forum, Kilcooley Neighbourhood Partnership, PSNI, NIHE representatives and some individual residents.

Alison Blayney, Director of Kilcooley Women’s Centre and Secretary of Kilcooley Community Forum hosted the event and played MC for the afternoon. She invited Jim Rea Chairman of Kilcooley Community Forum to officially welcome the Minister.

“On behalf of Kilcooley Community Forum we welcome your visit here today. As you are aware Kilcooley has made giant leaps forward in its transformation and community development over the past 12 years, and particularly since the DSD have worked with us under Neighbourhood Renewal the progress has been very evident.

The numerous projects funded by your department and supported by your predecessors are helping contribute to Kilcooley’s vision of no longer being a disadvantaged community.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive now has a waiting list of people wanting to live in Kilcooley.

There has been a lot of investment by other agencies such as NIHE, the Health Trust and private developers.

Almost half of Kilcooley is now privately owned.

Our member groups are working with others to see, for example:

· An annual 15-25% reduction in crime

· Strong community capacity and infrastructure

· Positive partnerships with PSNI and others

· Reduction in isolation and marginalisation of elderly residents

· Productive youth development

· Community involvement and participation

· Greater sense of community pride

These are just some of the encouraging developments taking place in Kilcooley.

We appreciate the support and commitment by DSD and are indebted to Andrew Petrie and Jerome Burns for their ongoing contribution, even when faced with what at times looked like insurmountable difficulties.

The Kilcooley Neighbourhood Partnership has at best provided an effective partnership approach to addressing disadvantage, but unfortunately it is not without difficulties as some of those who sit at this table neither contribute nor offer anything of substance to the vision and action plan.

As you know there are 4 main themes within the Neighbourhood Renewal strategy, these are:

Social Renewal - Physical Renewal

Community Renewal - Economic Renewal

On the first 3 themes there is clear evidence to show these are being addressed, but we still need to work on the Economic Renewal theme, and this is currently being done by our Business Advisor Jim Russell as we aim, with the support of DSD, the Health Trust and NIHE to develop a social enterprise at the heart of the estate.

We have a strong vision for change within Kilcooley which includes:

· Purpose built multi-function Centre, including office space and retail outlets

· Multi-purpose sports facility

· The removal of the outdated and dilapidated Kilclief flats which are a blight in the estate and requires the Minister’s approval for demolition

· Improving the quality of life for all our residents through new and innovative ideas

· Making Kilcooley an inclusive and shared community

Although we respect the hopes and aspirations for a shared future, we do so only if it is a fair future for all.

Kilcooley Community Forum and other community groups like Rathgill Community Association have had their fair share of ‘fighting for the rights’ of their residents and seeking to maintain equality of opportunity for everyone.

In doing this we have endured pressure from government departments and numerous agencies who want us to stay silent when injustices, inequality and discrimination is taking place.

This is why I have said we respect the hopes and aspirations for a shared future, we do so ONLY if it is a fair future for all.

In closing, we welcome your visit to Kilcooley today and although we have a lot of work still to do, may we remind you of the words of Sir Winston Churchill:

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Kilcooley Community Forum has a lot of Optimists working for our good.

Alison then used the platform to make her speech.

“Once again, I want to welcome you Minister to Kilcooley Women’s Centre and Kilcooley Primary School. Here, we offer services from the cradle to the grave, creating a caring and learning community. Staff, students and beneficiaries of KWC are most grateful to your Department and namely Andrew Petrie and Jerome Burns for the considerable contribution they have made to the STEP project via Neighbourhood Renewal. From December 2008, the STEP project has worked with 568 individuals, providing 1111 learning places. We are an accredited learning centre, the only women’s centre in Northern Ireland who are accredited by AQA, CCEA, BCS, City and Guilds. OCR and OCN. From essential skills to A levels – many of which are A* candidates. We offer an outreach service to other community groups through the Proteus funded ‘Peoples Outreach Project’. We also facilitate men’s training.

However, we are holistic in our approach – not only to the well being of the mind body and soul of women in Kilcooley, but as the only women’s centre in County Down outside of Belfast, we are a vital frontline service to women and children who have suffered as a result of the conflict. A strong partnership has been formed with the Flying Horse Ward Community Forum in Downpatrick, with whom we not only deliver projects, but share expertise and knowledge in terms of high quality, user led, community development.

Kilcooley Community Forum and KWC would welcome a more active role from the VCU, which could compliment the work of the NR unit, and help adequately resource this vital service in line with services available to women and children in Belfast and Londonderry. In these times of financial austerity, we accept there will be rationalisation of services, however it is hoped credit will be given where credit is due – fund what is working and delivering on DSD objectives to target disadvantage.

We recognise the need for transparency is paramount. We pride ourselves in promoting open, high quality projects, working at a grass roots level with often those most disengaged from community and marginalised by society. The people who feel invisible, who the peace process has passed them by and have not felt the benefit of a ‘peace dividend’.

We will continue to lobby for funding from Government which should be available on an open competition basis. This should be viewed as advocacy for local people, and not complaining for the sake of it. Believe it or not – we too are tiring of the sound of our own voices – we hope you have a listening ear. If you consider the demographics of areas such as Kilcooley, they are largely made up of people displaced from Belfast as a result of the conflict. The family, the problems and the issues were dispersed to areas such as Bangor, yet are often forgotten, as services are perceived to be concentrated in Belfast and Londonderry.

We hope in your role as Minister, you will use your influence both within your Department and the Executive to address this imbalance. We hope the current review of the Women’s sector, being jointly driven by DSD and OFMDFM will recognise the work undertaken in Kilcooley for all women in the area, regardless of age, social background, religious or political persuasion.

North Down has a community breakdown of 92% Protestant 8 % Catholic – yet KWC continues to attract 25% of its beneficiaries from the Catholic tradition. A shared space, happening naturally, and aiding the regeneration of Kilcooley.

Finally we really do appreciate the contribution made by the Department and hope the Minster continues to recognise the important, yet difficult work being done here in Kilcooley and continues to support us.”

Jamie Bryson Vice Chairman of Kilcooley Community Forum spoke on his initiative the Kilcooley Youth Cohesion Project about how they are engaging young men on various programmes to address issues such as sectarianism and racism.

The Minister was then invited to say a few words. He began by reminding everyone he had only been a Minister for about seven weeks and already was using what has become commonly known as a ‘single transferrable speech.” He spoke about being shown the nurturing group facility in Kilcooley Women’s Centre and was aware of the need for such projects because where he lived and worked some children at 5yrs old still didn’t know how to hold a pencil nor did they know what a washing machine was. He went on to say, “It is an honour to be a Minister in government in Northern Ireland and within my role I have seen the enormous amount of work going on within communities, particularly in Larne, Carrickfergus, Shankill, West Belfast, Dungannon and Kilcooley. Substantial work is carried out by volunteers within these places and they give such a valuable commitment to their areas.

One of the biggest influences in my political life was Robert (Bobby) Kennedy who was reported to have said, ‘Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events.’

There is a new order in Northern Ireland but we have a lot of work still to do. Take for example the Ardoyne riots, they do not represent the hopes of the community living there just as the killing of Bobby Moffet does not represent the hopes and aspirations of the people on the Shankill. We need to address these issues and recognise that each of our communities still have work which needs to be done. We have to stretch ourselves toward a shared future but we can do it. Who would have thought policing would be transformed? Politics in Northern Ireland has changed and more changes are to come.

Neighbourhood Renewal has brought benefits to many communities and now we have a monumental battle on our hands to ensure the security of Neighbourhood Renewal so that it is not lost with the proposed budgetary cuts. I would urge you to contact people of influence to make sure they shout loudly for Neighbourhood Renewal and Urban Regeneration may be seen as an easy target to save money and many communities will lose out.

I am the 3^rd Alex Attwood in my family. I am named after my Uncle who was in the British Army and who fought in the Second World War He was named after his Uncle Alex Attwood who was an English Protestant who fought in the Great War and is buried in an unknown grave in Flanders. With this in mind it grieves me that a small number of people have taken a Somme Memorial Garden in Kilcooley and have treated it and respect for the dead in a wrong fashion. I realise there is work ongoing to try to resolve this matter and I hope it will be successful, as the current situation should not be allowed to take away from the contribution of those who died. To quote Bobby Kennedy who paraphrased George Bernard Shaw, “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

We can make a difference, and I can see and hear for myself Kilcooley is seeking to do just that. Thank you”

Former speaker at Stormont Mrs Eileen Bell finished the proceedings by saying, “Thanks Alex (Minister) for coming to Kilcooley. I have been working in this community for many years and the whole place has changed over those years. A lot of this can be attributed to the support given by the Department for Social Development working in partnership with the member groups of Kilcooley Community Forum. I am a firm supporter of ‘shared future’ aspirations, it is something I have always wanted because I believe there is strength in diversity and I think Kilcooley, as far as North Down is concerned, is leading the way on this important matter. Again I want to express my thanks to my colleagues Alex Easton and Marion Smith for the work they do within this community and across the borough.”

Alison Blayney closed the formalities and invited everyone to enjoy refreshments. The Minister then spent time circulating and meeting individuals who told him about the work they are doing within Kilcooley.

The Minister left the community at 3.45pm to fulfil a further engagement.

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