European rural development experts come to Willowbank

Organised and hosted by the North East Rural Development Programme (NERDP), the group of over 40 Finns and Estonians were in Northern Ireland to consider a wide range of rural development issues and to share good practice.

Willowbank Rural Conference Centre was a project supported by the NERDP, which manages EU rural development funding. At the Larne event, the visitors were welcomed by Larne’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Mark McKinty and Alderman Roy Beggs, a member of the NERDP management board.

The group were given a tour of the facility and heard a presentation on LEDCOM’s economic development work by chief executive, Ken Nelson.

Mr Nelson said: “We are always delighted to highlight the many positive and progressive initiatives taken to support economic development in Larne.”

NERDP manager Andrew McAlister added: “This was a great opportunity to showcase many excellent rural development projects to our EU colleagues. Networking opportunities such as this help build contacts and exchange good practice which will benefit areas such as Larne for years to come.”