Pictured with the Chairman of the Leisure & Community Development Committee, Alderman James Tinsley are children from one of the Council's Summer Schemes.

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council has helped provide valuable support to parents over the summer holidays through its popular summer scheme programme.

Entitled ‘Summer in the City, the scheme has provided over 2,000 summer activity places across multiple venues, including Lagan Valley LeisurePlex , Grove Activity Centre, Glenmore Activity Centre, Kilmakee Activity Centre, Lough Moss Leisure Centre and numerous rural facilities.

Throughout the scheme, children have the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of activities and sports, suitable for their age group, which are supervised by a team of qualified staff.  Activities may include swimming, leisure pool, games, outings, arts and crafts, bouncy castle and a wide choice of sports courses. Many of the summer schemes also include out of centre trips each week to places such as Dundonald International Ice Bowl, cinema, zoo and open farm, providing hours of endless fun for participants.

Visiting some of the Sports Services summer scheme venues this week, Chairman of the Leisure & Community Development Committee, Alderman James Tinsley said, “It is fantastic to see so many smiling children enjoying the wide range of activities available through our summer scheme programme. 

“We recognise the valuable support that summer schemes offer busy parents over the school holidays and the importance of getting children active to promote a lifestyle of health and physical activity. Schemes also provide a fantastic opportunity for children to make new friendships, particularly when they are off school, which helps improve their confidence and social skills.

“The Council strives to assist as many families as possible by providing a wide range of summer scheme options.  In addition to the popular summer scheme programmes for children aged 5-14 years, we also offer a teen scheme at Lagan Valley LeisurePlex for children aged 12-16 years, providing an ideal solution for parents with older children. We also organise a two week summer scheme in partnership with the local health trust specifically focusing on young people with a disability which provides much needed respite for parents over the summer.”

“I hope all the children continue to enjoy the rest of their summer scheme and I look forward to welcoming them back to the centre again either visiting with their family or a future activity scheme”, concluded Alderman Tinsley.

Very limited places are currently remaining on the Council’s summer scheme and swim camps.  For availability and to book online visit, www.theleisureplex.com.