Community to celebrate Rathcoole's 70th anniversary

Construction of the estate to the north of Belfast began in the early 1950s, with records indicating the earliest construction completion date was in 1953.

The first residents moved into their homes at this time.

Membes of RATH Community Group will be staging a celebration event on Sunday (August 13) to help mark the momentous milestone.

The event in the Donardview Close area, taking place between 1pm and 3pm, will feature a number of family-friendly activities including bouncy castles, pony rides, slides, an assaut course, a video gaming bus, face painting, refreshments and music from a DJ and local flute bands.

Ahead of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive funded event, a spokesperson for the organisers said: “All free and all welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.”

A NIHE spokesperson said: “The RATH Community group applied for funding under our Community Cohesion Fund and were successful in securing £3,000.

“This funding has been used for a celebratory fun day on August 13.

“We’re pleased to support the milestone 70th anniversary of the Rathcoole Estate and will continue to work to strengthen community engagement for the benefit of all our residents.

“We’re not aware of any other events planned to mark this anniversary, but we’ll continue to work with our statutory partners and groups within the area to support any events which meet our organisational objectives and community cohesion themes.”

There are approximately 1,400 properties still in Northern Ireland Housing Executive ownership and over 1,600 properties which have been sold under the Right to Buy scheme.