08 December 2010

Rathcoole 'Multies' Facing Cutbacks

Only one of four iconic Newtownabbey tower blocks have been fully refurbished as cash flow problems stymied completion of a home improvement scheme.

The famous 'Multies' in Co Antrim's Rathcoole have seen refurbishment work being scaled back due to a shortage of funding.

The four multi-storey flats that dominate the landscape at the sprawling Newtownabbey estate were all to be boosted by the NI Housing Executive with an upgrade over the coming months, but residents in three of the tower blocks will not be getting the new kitchens and heating systems they had expected.

While tenants in Glencoole House have benefited from the full improvement package, people living in the other three multi-storey blocks will only get some of the planned upgrades.

Appealing to the Housing Executive to rethink its plan to shelve the full refurbishment programme, Deputy Mayor Tommy Kirkham told the local paper, the Newtownabbey Times: "I would appeal to the Minister for Social Development to have another look at what is being saved in financial terms by the cancellation of the full scheme."

(BMcC)