A New Year message from the Mayor
January 5, 2017
On behalf of everyone at Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the local New Year Honours recipients in receiving such prestigious recognition of the work you do. I have sent personal congratulations to each one of the four local recipients expressing my delight on their terrific achievement.
As we get back to our normal routines we turn our attention to the year ahead and the future of our Council area. There are exciting times ahead.
This year will see the Community Plan and the Local Area Plan created to shape Lisburn and Castlereagh and to improve the quality of life for you, the residents of our locality.
It is important that you take the time to read over the draft Community Plan and provide your feedback so that you can be involved in shaping your community for right now and for the wellbeing of generations to come. Look out in the local media and on the Council’s website for details on how to be involved and encourage those around you to do the same.
The Council is working on many initiatives to improve our area and one way we are doing this is by attracting new investment to create jobs and improve our offering. Our Lisburn & Castlereagh at Westminster event in March and our attendance at MIPIM, the UK’s largest investment and property exhibition in October, will ensure that we showcase our best assets to potential investors. We also continue to support our Small & Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) through a tailored offering of business support and trade development programmes.
In my role as Mayor I have the privilege of meeting so many community, sporting and charity groups. We should not underestimate the contribution they make to our society and I wish them a year of success in 2017. We have received the nominations for the Mayors Community Awards and I am looking forward to the ceremony in March when the volunteers and community groups will receive the recognition they rightly deserve.
Finally, I would like to thank the people of Lisburn and Castlereagh for the opportunity to represent them as Mayor and I look forward to building a better area with you all. I will continue to raise funds for my chosen charity TinyLife. Remember that you too can also work with the Mayor’s Office in supporting the charity. No matter how small the contribution, it all adds up, and I am grateful to everyone who has been involved to date.
We have a great area with so much potential and a vibrant community. Be proud of it and contribute to the development of it in any way you can.
Happy New Year: may 2017 be healthy and prosperous for each and every one of you.