The Glebe Kilclief – a Green Community Hub for People, Plants & Pollinators

One of Northern Ireland’s leading cross-community centres, based at Glebe House in Kilclief, Co. Down, is being re-imagined as a green community hub, with the help of a £61,000 award from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The centre, run by the Harmony Community Trust, was best known during the ‘troubles’ as a place to bring children from both communities together.  In the decades since the Good Friday Agreement, it has evolved to serve the wider community with a range of activities and classes including arts and crafts, local history, singing, health and wellbeing as well as the Seedbed Community Garden.

The site at Glebe has several acres that are not being actively used.  This is an ecologically rich environment as well as a significant community resource.  Thanks to National Lottery players, by the end of 2026 Harmony Community Trust will have a detailed and agreed plan for future activities on this site as part of a welcoming and sustainable community hub.

Trust Chair Judith Thompson says: “With Heritage Fund support, we will decide and plan how the site will be used – this is a major piece of work which is volunteer-led but supported by professional and scientific expertise.

“We want our site to serve our local communities by providing outdoor resources with welcoming community access. This can help people to connect with nature and develop interests in sustainable growing and habitat management through positive, shared, cross-community activities”, she added.

The new initiative also involves researching and preserving the stories from Glebe’s history – including from 1975 as a cross-community centre for children and young people –  while ensuring that ecologically significant features of the site and its biodiversity are enhanced and protected.

The work over the next 15 months will include:

• Documenting ecological features  of the site and biodiversity monitoring;
• Researching local histories and preserving memories;
• Residents and group surveys and consultations – finding out how people would like to use the site;
• Co-operating  with local schools so that children can participate;
• Developing volunteers’ skills for all future activities.

Dr Paul Mullan, Northern Ireland Director at  The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:

 “We are thrilled that thanks to National Lottery players, we can support Harmony Community Trust to develop plans for a flourishing hub that will bring people together, growing and sharing skills and heritage. As one of the UK’s largest investors in natural heritage, we strongly believe that everyone benefits from access to landscapes rich in nature”

Contact: Judith Thompson, Chair Harmony Community Trust  07907 953 332

Please see our Recruitment and Volunteering page for opportunities to work with us on this project, application deadline 5pm Sunday 23rd November.