Rathfriland and District Regeneration Co Ltd

Public benefits

All of our purposes are for the benefit of the public in the Rathfriland area but also in other areas of social and economic deprivation. The direct benefits which flow from the promotion of urban or rural regeneration in this socially and economically deprived area are that we are advancing education providing commercial property to create

employment opportunities, providing affordable housing and trying to make the area a safer place in which to live. Under the advancement of education we provide young unemployed people youth training programmes in partnership with the EA and local FE colleges. We also offer opportunities for volunteering and work experience for young people involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. This benefits the young people as they will have the opportunity to build CV skills, interview techniques and gain increased confidence in their ability to enter the work place. Evidenced by the number of people attending courses. We also hope to establish a men’s shed where men of all ages can meet and share skills and support each other through practical activities which should help them to retrain and learn new skills. This also has the added advantage of reducing social isolation among the male population. We are promoting regeneration by providing retail units and workspace on favourable terms to enable the creation of training and employment opportunities which greatly assists those running a business as the cost of rent can be very difficult in the early stages of business. This is evidenced by our current tenants, a café, community shop hair dressers and a movie rental shop which and enables businesses to provide much needed services to the general public, this is of particular importance in a small rural community and with the benefit of reducing social isolation. We have also developed a meeting room for hire including to be used for training opportunities. We encourage individuals to organise classes or lectures for the benefit of the community and already have firm bookings for an aromatherapy class and youth class. Moving forward we propose to use the gardens to develop allotment space for training purposes and the use of the naturally sloping ground to develop as a performance area. Under the provision of housing, we provide six one-bedroom flats which provides necessary smaller affordable accommodation for those that need it. This is evidenced by high occupancy rates and through direct and indirect feedback from tenants. Under the promotion of public safety and prevention of crime we aim to make people aware of the dangers of their own behavior and heighten awareness about crime from others so that we can all feel safe in our community. To date we have run drive safety courses and held seminars on internet safety for parents and young people. We hope to continue to collaborate with the neighbourhood policing team to facilitate future information events. The direct benefits which flow from the advancement of heritage is that local people in the Rathfriland area will be more aware of local history. To date we have established Sister City arrangements with Armstrong in British Colombia in Canada to learn about the historical links between Rathfriland and Armstrong through the life of Catherine Shubert O’Hare, a native of Rathfriland who became a prominent citizen of Armstrong. We also plan to organise cultural and heritage events including fair days. There is no harm from our work.

What your organisation does

The organisation have several strands; Community Development - organising various community activities both social and educational. Social Housing - affordable housing for those who are classed as disadvantaged, i.e. disabled persons. Redevelopment of derelict property. Charity Shop. Community festivals etc.