NORTH Belfast football club Cliftonville FC have been awarded £50,000 from a community development programme to install a new 3G pitch. 

Over the next decade, the Whitemountain Programme will provide sporting facilities that remove financial barriers to accessing leisure facilities, provide a safe haven for the local community and divert local young people away from antisocial behaviour.

Cliftonville's Solitude pitch is used by a variety of groups in their local community including charities, local residents' groups and local primary and secondary schools. 

The Whitemountain Programme was established by Whitemountain, who are part of the Breedon Group, and are a leading contracting and materials business operating throughout the UK and Ireland, specialising in highway maintenance, civil engineering, airfield construction, quarry materials, bitumen importation and distribution, waste management and green energy. 

Since its beginnings in 2008, the Whitemountain Programme has distributed over £8 million of funding to 260 fantastic community and biodiversity projects. This funding helps groups to achieve their plans for positive change in their community. 

Shannon Downey, Communities Lead at Groundwork NI, said: "Cliftonville FC do fantastic work in their local community in North Belfast and through this funding they will continue to provide access to sport and leisure in one of the most deprived communities in Northern Ireland." 

David Begley from Cliftonville FC said: "We are delighted to be recipients of the grant from the Whitemountain Programme.

"The support of the programme has assisted us in enabling the continuance of the use of our facility by hundreds of children and other groups each week by ensuring a facility that enhances what is available to the local community."

Russell Drew from Whitemountain Programme added: "It is a privilege to support large community projects such as Cliftonville FC.

"Funding for the 3G pitch over the next ten years will help numerous groups from charities to schools in the local area, supporting people in accessing leisure facilities regardless of their background."