Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership Celebrate Winning IPB Pride of Place Award

Members of the Newry Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership (NRP) enjoyed an evening at the Canal Court hotel on Friday 28 October to celebrate their win of the IPB Pride of Place Award 2021.

Newry NRP were declared the winners of the Cities Section: Community Wellbeing Initiative at the IPB Pride of Place awards ceremony in May, which took place in County Kerry. The event in the Canal Court provided an opportunity for all the NRP members to come together to celebrate this incredible achievement.

IPB Pride of Place, in association with Co-operation Ireland, acknowledges the work that communities are doing all over the island of Ireland.  The competition focus is about people coming together to shape, change and improve daily lives in their communities. Since the competition commenced in 2003, it has impacted on hundreds of thousands of people, all of whom are proud of their place.

The award was given to Newry NRP in recognition of its work in its delivery of the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, ‘People and Place’.  Since its inception in 2005, the partnership has delivered a wide range of capital and revenue programmes across four key themes, Social (Health and education), Economic, Community and Physical.  At the celebration event in the Canal Court, Newry District Electoral Area Chairperson, Councillor Gary Stokes along with Department for Communities Deputy Director, Anita Waite presented the award to the NRP members.

On congratulating the Partnership on its many achievements and on receiving the award, Councillor Gary Stokes, on behalf of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Michael Savage said, “This Neighbourhood Renewal programme has delivered so many great capital and revenue schemes which have changed people’s lives for the better, providing support for our children and young people and transforming our communities into places that foster positive health and wellbeing.  This award is very well deserved and a credit to all those involved.”

Department for Communities Deputy Director, Anita Waite said, ‘We see this investment by our Department as a commitment to tackle deprivation in our most deprived areas, creating new opportunities for local people to improve their life chances. We recognise and offer our sincere thanks to the members of the Newry Renewal Partnership and in particular, our many volunteers who have been faced with many challenges notably the covid pandemic, yet they continue to deliver our programmes and help to change lives.”

Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership (NRP) Chairperson, Paula Mc Guigan, said, “I would like to thank the Newry DEA for nominating the Partnership for the award and I want to pay tribute to the NRP members who have worked so hard over many years in the delivery of the entire programme.  Thank you also to the Department for Communities for its continued support and commitment to the NRP.”