In terms of the issues and priorities which the Ballykelly village community identified through the consultation process outlined above, these are summarised as follows:- Community Services The village is serviced by a local playgroup which provides high quality early years education five days per week, accommodating 52 children during term time and 40 60 during – summer scheme. A current focus is on developing a Forest School with a need for support in accessing materials and equipment. A key issue identified was clearly the need for new community centre provision; the current facility is outdated and visually poor which means that it does not encourage village participation or promote the character of the village. In addition to being dated, the current building presents limitations in terms of size. It was felt that community activities and programmes could be enhanced; without a fit for purpose community facility scope to fully address this need is limited. It was felt that need exists for a community/sports hub to bring together activities in a central location. Currently the Cricket Club is also exploring options for new grounds and changing facilities. In addition to accommodating sporting interests, it was felt that local historical groups could benefit from a hub facility, including providing a permanent base for the Shackleton Aviation Museum. There is a strong desire to see a new purpose built facility on the site at Shackleton Barracks with both Village Plan consultees and over one third of scoping study respondents expressing this desire; at the time of writing it was unclear how this would move forward. The Community and Youth Association has been very active in pursuing this goal, recognising the benefit to the whole Ballykelly community. Utlising Our Assets As a Plantation village, Ballykelly has a strong heritage with many listed buildings; it was felt that these are not promoted to their full potential at the moment and that scope exists to better highlight these assets. This could include signage and interpretation panels at key sites, recording and promoting local heritage. Next Steps On completion of consultations, a draft Action Plan was drawn up and circulated to groups. This afforded the opportunity to review the proposed actions and confirm priority needs and issues. A final Village Plan and Action Plan was then produced and is produced in the following section.
In terms of the issues and priorities which the Ballykelly village community identified through the consultation process outlined above, these are summarised as follows:- Community Services The village is serviced by a local playgroup which provides high quality early years education five days per week, accommodating 52 children during term time and 40 – 60 during summer scheme. A current focus is on developing a Forest School with a need for support in accessing materials and equipment. A key issue identified was clearly the need for new community centre provision; the current facility is outdated and visually poor which means that it does not encourage village participation or promote the character of the village. In addition to being dated, the current building presents limitations in terms of size. It was felt that community activities and programmes could be enhanced; without a fit for purpose community facility scope to fully address this need is limited. It was felt that need exists for a community/sports hub to bring together activities in a central location. Currently the Cricket Club is also exploring options for new grounds and changing facilities. In addition to accommodating sporting interests, it was felt that local historical groups could benefit from a hub facility, including providing a permanent base for the Shackleton Aviation Museum. There is a strong desire to see a new purpose built facility on the site at Shackleton Barracks with both Village Plan consultees and over one third of scoping study respondents expressing this desire; at the time of writing it was unclear how this would move forward. The Community and Youth Association has been very active in pursuing this goal, recognising the benefit to the whole Ballykelly community. Utlising Our Assets As a Plantation village, Ballykelly has a strong heritage with many listed buildings; it was felt that these are not promoted to their full potential at the moment and that scope exists to better highlight these assets. This could include signage and interpretation panels at key sites, recording and promoting local heritage. Next Steps On completion of consultations, a draft Action Plan was drawn up and circulated to groups. This afforded the opportunity to review the proposed actions and confirm priority needs and issues. A final Village Plan and Action Plan was then produced and is produced in the following section.