Cookstown Artwork Threads Industrial Heritage Into Shared Housing Milestone

New artwork has been unveiled on the site of the former Daintifyt factory in Cookstown.

The brassiere factory stood where the Burnvale Crescent housing development is now located.

It was one of the original ten NI Executive T:BUC Strategy shared housing schemes launched under the NI Executive’s flagship strategy and a celebration event was recently held to mark this milestone.

The strategy has since grown significantly to include 85 shared housing schemes across Northern Ireland, managed by 12 Housing Associations, with Radius Housing responsible for 14 of these.

The artwork, designed by Metal Imagineers, was inspired by the rich industrial heritage of the site, connecting the past with the present.

The new community artwork was supported through the NI Executive Together: Building a United Community Strategy, which reflects the Executive’s commitment to improving community relations and continuing the journey towards a more united and shared society.

The Burnvale Crescent shared housing development is also supported by the Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Just over £3m was invested in the scheme’s development and its associated five-year Good Relations Plan.

Over the course of the NI Executive T:BUC Strategy Burnvale Crescent has hosted a number of events, and has seen the formation of the Burnvale Community Association, who have supported Geraldine Dougan the Communities Officer to deliver a number of events and activities including the Cookstown Cultural Parade as part of Good Relations Week in 2021 and 2022; the establishment of a local Samba band in 2021, which includes two Burnvale Crescent tenants; and community gardening initiatives, including clearing overgrown land to create raised beds for growing vegetables and fruit bushes.