Six community facilities and public spaces in the north are to receive £65m (€77m) in funding from the cross-border PEACEPLUS programme.
The initiatives receiving funding range include a shared space at an interface in north Belfast to a new indoor ‘Air Dome’ arena in Derry as well as converting a former barracks into a sport and wellbeing centre in Co Down.
The six projects were awarded funding after making successful bids to PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and funded by the EU, British and Irish governments and the NI Executive.
Thousands of people are expected to benefit from the new facilities when open, with the hope that they will bring people together.
SEUPB Chief Executive Gina McIntyre said: “These new facilities will provide places where people can come together, collaborate and engage with one another in a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.”
“They are crucial for peacebuilding and reconciliation.
“Their impact transcends the bricks and mortar required for their construction, penetrating much further into the local community through the changes in both attitudes and behaviours, resulting in a reduction in segregation and contributing to sustained peace and prosperity.”
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said he was “delighted” that the funding for the sites had been approved.
“It is my ambition to deliver policies and programmes that will have real and meaningful impact, that are sustainable and that will provide tangible, lasting benefits,” he said.
His Irish government counterpart, Heather Humphreys, added that such shared spaces have brought about “real change” in the past and also have “a huge transformational impact and support economic and tourism opportunities in the region”.
