In May 2002 the Council's
Economic Development function transferred from the Chief Executive's Office
to the Environmental Services Department under the Directorship of Mr
Colin McClintock.
The Economic Development Unit has produced a new Action Plan to run from
2003-2005 which will deliver in the region of forty Economic Development,
Tourism Development and Lagan Corridor projects, including a range of
capital development projects, regeneration and business development initiatives,
and high profile citywide events.
The European Union has made a significant contribution to both economic
and social development in the City of Lisburn through two important funding
resources which have been accessed by the Council and Lisburn Partnership:
> As a result of a successful application
to the European Regional Development Fund under
the Programme for Building Sustainable
Prosperity (Measure 3.1), £1.4 million was awarded to
Lisburn City Council. Match funded by the Council on a 50:50 basis the
Council has already drawn down £300,000 of this funding which has
been allocated to business and infrastructure development throughout the
City.
> Lisburn Partnership has developed
a citywide integrated Strategy for Lisburn together with a two year Action
Plan which will see the allocation of £4.4 million under the PEACE
II Programme, as part of Priority
3 Locally Based Regeneration & Development Strategies, Measure 1 (Local
Economic Initiatives for Developing the Social Economy)
and Measure 2 (Locally based Human
Resource, Training and Development Strategies). To date £1.47m
of grant monies have been allocated to 16 local organisations to implement
a range of training and social economy interventions.
The Council was also part of a successful bid to Measure
4.1 of the Peace ll, Outward and Forward Looking Region. COMET,
a sub regional network of seven Local Authorities and seven Local Strategy
Partnerships of localities within the Greater Belfast Metropolitan Area
(namely Lisburn, Belfast, North Down, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh
and Newtownards) secured £350,000 of EU funding to deliver the CONNECT
Programme. CONNECT aims
to develop a structured programme which will share best practice and exchange
of experience between COMET and members of the Euro Cities Network which
represents 113 European Metropolitan regions. COMET aims to explore additional
opportunities for co-operation and joint working across the seven council
areas through Interreg IIIA and the
EQUAL Programme.
Funded by the Council, Laganside Rural Development
Ltd (LRDL) was established by a group of key rural stakeholders
to assist the wider rural community in the Lisburn City to improve their
quality of life through economic and community development. Now in its
second year LRDL employs two members of staff and is in the process of
completing a Rural Strategy for the City of Lisburn. A successful application
to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
(DARD) has secured £454,000 of funding to deliver a Change
Management Programme reskilling and diversification programme
for farmers in the South Antrim area, including Lisburn. A further £5,000
has also been secured for project development work on an Environmental
Awareness Programme worth £300,000.
The Council facilitated Vocational Training Project Team has identified and implemented a range of training initiatives designed to closely address the needs of local employers and provide greater
The Council continues to make a major financial contribution to the installation and maintenance of the City Centre CCTV System which is part of a concerted city wide effort to reduce crime. Operating 24 hours per day and integrated with a City Centre Radiolink System the initiative is managed by Lisburn Commerce Against Crime (LCAC) and also supported by the Police Authority of Northern Ireland and through contributions from the local business sector. Three additional CCTV schemes have also been established in Moira, Hillsborough and Dunmurry.
