Other News In Brief

County Antrim Shield Final Postponed Due To Weather

The final of the County Antrim Shield at Ballymena Showgrounds has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

It comes after Ballymena's scheduled match with Portadown last weekend was also moved to a later date because the pitch was frozen.

The weather has failed to improve since then and an inspection of the ground on Tuesday 05 February led to the planned evening game also being rearranged.

SDLP Move To Develop Enterprise Zones Across Belfast

A group of SDLP councillors have forwarded a motion to Belfast City Council to develop Enterprise Zones across areas of the city with high unemployment rates.

It comes off the back of similar successful initiatives throughout the UK.

Councillor Tim Atwood said: "It is important that Belfast City Council considers every financial instrument to create jobs, grow the economy and support those disadvantaged communities.

"Enterprise Zones, Manufacturing Zones and simplified planning zones have been used in Scotland and England to promote housing, business and industry. These zones can offer business rates discounts and additional tax breaks, backed by a simplified local planning process which can support businesses, help budding entrepreneurs to start up and assist established companies to grow."

The NI Executive supported the creation of the first zone of its kind in Coleraine in 2016 with a £20m investment and the SDLP group is calling for the same action for other unemployment hotspots across the region.

Belfast Speed Dating Event Seeking Male Participants

A unique Belfast speed dating event is searching for eligible males to take part.

The Valentine's initiative on Saturday 16 February involves running and is already filled up with 25 female participants.

Organisers said that each person will be paired up and run at a pace that suits them while chatting for two minutes.

When the whistle blows they'll move up onto the next line and do the same for another two minutes.

An organiser for the event said that the lack of male interest in the romantic sporting event may lead to its cancellation.



(JG/CM)