Broughshane Residents Over the Moon at Channel Four UK Award

Residents of Broughshane, just a few miles outside Ballymena on the Carnlough road, are over the moon at their success in winning the title of Channel 4's Village of the Year

The County Antrim ‘garden village’ came out on top in the final of the programme presented by Penelope Keith which was broadcast at the weekend.

The series saw the former Good Life actress tour the UK in search for the best villages in terms of beauty, community spirit, infrastructure and quality of life. The four regional winners battled it out in the grand final, with Hampstead Norreys in Berkshire, Beer in Devon and Bamburgh in Northumberland coming runner-ups to Broughshane.

The £10,000 prize is for spending on a community project – in Broughshane’s case, fittingly promoting tourism.

Lexie Scott, Chairman of Broughshane’s community association, said the village was delighted by its victory. He added that the success was “a very fitting tribute to the effort so many volunteers put into the life of the village”.

“Broughshane is no stranger to awards for our floral displays but this was a completely different challenge for us. The appearance of the village played a significant role, nonetheless a big element of this programme was the commitment of the people in this village to village life.

“We saw that coming to the fore when we had our celebration of volunteering as part of the show and almost 1,000 people took part in a cavalcade. Unfortunately it turned out to be the wettest day of the year.”

One feature of the village of Broughshane that caught the eye of the programme’s judges was the Raceview Mill project. In 2013 Raceview was scheduled for demolition. It was purchased by local artist and photographer Roy McKeown and – with the help of daughter Dawn – they restored the old mill buildings, converting them into a hub for small local businesses and start ups.

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