AG Wilson Civil Engineering To Start Work On Sewer Project In Lisburn

Contractor AG Wilson Civil Engineering has been appointed to start work on a sewer rehabilitation project in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

NI Water selected the firm to carry out the work which is to begin in mid-October and is expected to take 12 weeks to complete.

The work is being programmed to be completed prior to the commencement of Public Realm work within Lisburn.

The proposed works will involve the replacement and repair of defective sewers within the area covered by the Lisburn Linkages Public Realm Scheme. This will include areas of Bridge Street, Antrim Street, Railway Street and Castle Street.

Works will commence in Bridge Street, and will include a section of open dig sewer replacement, a number of localised open dig repairs, along with a significant amount of trenchless sewer relining and repairs. Trenchless underground 'no-dig' techniques will be used where possible to minimise disruption and will involve access through existing manholes.

Diversions will be put in place during the works.

Man Convicted Of Benefit Fraud

A man has been convicted for claiming £17,617 benefits he was not entitled to at Omagh Magistrates' Court.

Thomas Logue laimed Income Support and Housing Benefit totalling £17,617 while failing to declare an occupational pension, capital and earnings. He was sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

The fraud was uncovered following an investigation by the Department for Communities.

Mr Logue is also required to repay any outstanding money wrongfully obtained to the Department.

Call For Curriculum Sports Programme Decision To Be Reversed

SDLP Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has repeated his call for the decision to scrap the Curriculum Sports Programme, which provides coaching to 40,000 pupils each year, to be reversed.

Scrapping the programme will result in the loss of 50 jobs provided through the GAA and IFA. Mr McNulty led a cross party delegation to meet the Head of the Civil Service last month in an effort to save the resource.

He said: "The Curriculum Sports Programme provides critical support to schools, assisting in the provision of coaching to over 40,000 pupils every year.

"There is rightly a focus on encouraging children to maintain a fit, healthy and active lifestyle. All the evidence shows that taking part in sport and maintaining an active lifestyle from an early age doesn’t just benefit a child’s physical wellbeing, it positively influences their mental health, as well as their emotional and character development. How can we stand by and sacrifice all that?"

(CD)