Work Starts on Sports Hub at Ballybeen

March 14, 2019

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council was on site this week to ‘cut the sod’ to mark the start of the construction works of the new £1.3 million Ballybeen Sports Hub in Dundonald.

McAvoy Construction has been appointed to construct the Sports Hub facility within the grass open space area linked by Brooklands Road, Dungoyne Park and Craigleith Drive.  It will include: a new full size grass football pitch realigned on the site, a new enclosed and floodlit 3G training MUGA pitch, changing rooms, roadside parking and footpaths.

Alderman Paul Porter, Chairman of the Council’s Leisure & Community Development Committee, speaking at the sod cutting, said: “I am delighted that this project has progressed to construction with an expected completion date of mid-October.  This much needed local sporting facility, which includes a 3G MUGA pitch, will be popular with the local sports teams and young people throughout the year. 

“We believe that this new sports hub will attract sports players, coaches and teams from outside the area and provide an important space for cross-community activities and events. I would like to thank Ballybeen Improvement Group (BIG) for all its hard work during the consultation and planning stages of this project.”

This project has been a partnership between the Council and BIG.  It has been in development since 2013. £160,000 funding was secured through the Lisburn Castlereagh PEACE IV Partnership towards the 3G pitch. 

Councillor Jonathan Craig, Chairman of the Lisburn Castlereagh PEACE IV Partnership added: “We were delighted to be able to part fund this project under the ‘Shared Space and Services’ theme.  When completed this pitch will be used on a sustained and shared basis by teams from across local communities in Lisburn Castlereagh and further afield.” 

The project is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.