New youth facility opens in Seymour Hill

Ms O’Connor performed the official opening alongside Richard Rogers from the Alpha Programme and Mayor of Lisburn and Castlereagh, Cllr Uel Mackin.

Speaking at the opening, Ms O’Connor said: 

“The education of young people can be greatly enhanced through the non-formal learning opportunities provided by youth work. Youth settings such as Seymour Hill Youth Club provide a setting where young people can meet, make friends and take part in structured activities in a safe and welcoming environment.

“Seymour Hill Youth Club has gone from strength to strength over the past few years and it is a tribute to the hard work of volunteers and staff that extra floor space for the older club members has become a necessity as numbers have grown.

“The new facility will enable further engagement with young people and allow them to develop their skills in a safe environment - skills that will stay with and benefit these young people throughout their lives.”

Vice-chairperson of the Seymour Hill and Conway Residents Association Julie Ann Jackson said: 

“The new facility will make a huge difference to all the children at the club. We had a welcome problem to solve in that we had so many children who wanted to join that we simply hadn’t enough space in our existing premises.

“With the help of the Alpha Programme we were able to transform a disused portacabin into a separate facility for older members. I would like to thank the Alpha Programme for supporting this project and also all our partners who enable us to deliver youth work in Seymour Hill – the Education Authority, the NI Housing Executive, the PSNI, Awards for All, and Lisburn and Castlereagh Council.”

The Alpha Programme distributes funding through the Landfill Communities Fund to a range of community-led projects.

Alpha Programme manager Richard Rogers added: 

“I am delighted to be back at Seymour Hill Youth Club to see the building transformed. When I first visited, it was derelict, it was wasted space. The Alpha Programme is about bringing spaces such as this back into use. I know there are ambitious plans for Seymour Hill Youth Club and I hope that today will mark a step towards fulfilling those plans.”