Urban Villages Initiative Tooklit

PRESS RELEASE SAMPLE

The title must grab the reader’s attention

PUTTING TOGETHER A PRESS RELEASE

Work begins on the new £2million Transport hub in West Belfast

This week the first sod has been cut on the new £2million Colin Town Ce ntre Transport Hub and Civic Square in West Belfast. The new facility forms a vital part of th e Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) project and will be a state of the art facility which will prov ide a significant economic boost to the local area. The Urban Villages Initiative has invested significantly in the new facility to incorporate an integrated community space and a high quality civic square that will ser ve people locally and will accommodate public events. The BRT is an innovative and amb itious project that will enhance connections from East to West via the city centre. This new development will open up opportunity for further investment and enterprise in the Colin a rea. Dr Mark Browne Director of Strategic Policy, Equality & Good Relations at The Executive Office said: “This new facility will be a major asset to everyone in the Co lin area. It will massively improve accessibility and connectivity with other parts of Bel fast. The addition of community facilities and a new civic square will provide shared space that will bring the place to life with public events and community activities. “This also signals the first phase of investment in Colin which is being su pported through the Urban Villages Initiative. This is the beginning of significant capital in vestments that will build capacity for the local community and foster positive community id entities.” Annie Armstrong, Manager at Colin Neighbourhood Partnership, said: “T his project marks the beginning of an exciting change for everyone living in and visiting th e Colin area. In addition to the great new transport system, the integrated community s pace will allow public events to be hosted, such as markets, carnivals and Christmas ce lebrations. 1. BRT is a multi-million pound investment in sustainable transport acro ss the city of Belfast Which will be operational from September 2018. The BRT route in Wes t Belfast will run between McKinstry Road Roundabout and the city centre, via the Colin Town Ce ntre Transport Hub, Stewartstown Road, Andersonstown Road, Falls Road and Divis Street and will replace the Metro 10 service in West Belfast. 2. The Urban Villages Initiative is a key action within the Together: Build ing a United Community strategy. It is designed to improve good relations outcomes and to deve lop thriving places where there has previously been a history of deprivation and community tensi on. 3. The Urban Villages that three main aims; 1) to foster positive commu nity identities; 2) to build community capacity and 3) to improve the physical environm ent 4. For more information contact Jonathon Fulton Marketing Communic ations Officer, Telephone: 077 6856 0607 or Email: jonathon.fulton@urbanvillagesni.o rg NOTES TO EDITORS:

You need to get all the key information into the first paragraph of a press release: 5W’s – Who/ What/Where/ When/Why

Impact – Why is this press release news worthy, what impact will it have on the local community?

Quote from The Urban

Villages Initiative

Quote from the Community

Editor’s Notes e.g. background and contact details

Try to keep it to one A4 page where possible. Include high quality images with captions.

| Urban Villages Media Toolkit 14