29/05/2002

Ministers welcome north Belfast action project report

The Minister for Social Development Nigel Dodds has welcomed plans designed to improve relations in north Belfast.

The First Minister and Deputy First Minister and the Department of Social Development jointly launched the North Belfast Community Action Project last December under the chairmanship of the former Presbyterian Moderator Reverend John Dunlop.

The overall aim of the Project was to identify actions to address social and community issues in north Belfast with a focus on building community relations.

Welcoming the report Mr Trimble said: “We have always recognised that there is no quick-fix solution to north Belfast and this Report provides us with a series of recommendations that we hope will help us to understand more fully the complex problems within the area and to develop a strategic response to them.”

Mr Dodds said the proposals represented a vital step towards rebuilding confidence in the area.

“My Department is committed to playing a key role, along with others, in the further regeneration of an area that has suffered so much. There are important recommendations in the report, which I want to see delivered to the people of north Belfast as swiftly as possible,” he said.

The report also recognises the importance of an integrated approach between Government and local organisations as well as partnership between communities and local agencies.

To enforce this a dedicated unit led by a Senior Civil Servant will be established to take this work forward.

(AMcE)


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