Member's statement: Lough Moss Leisure Centre
Member's statement by Ms Kate Nicholl on .
- MLA
- Ms Kate Nicholl
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 27 April 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Lough Moss Leisure Centre
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5508101
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I draw the House's attention to a petition that has recently been launched in Carryduff, calling on Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council to deliver a new and modern Lough Moss leisure centre. Residents across Carryduff, Newtownbreda and the Four Winds have come together to make it clear that the current facility is no longer fit for purpose. The demand has simply outgrown the capacity, and people are being turned away from classes and the gym due to oversubscription. Earlier, I talked to my colleague, Councillor Jamie Harpur, and he said that there is often a queue of people waiting in the reception to use the gym equipment. The classes come online at 8.00 am, and they have all gone by 8.01 am because there is a serious demand. The situation is made particularly pressing by the absence of a local swimming pool. There is only one in the entire council area, and that is wholly inadequate for a growing and active population. I passionately believe that swimming is a life skill. I have been doing work on this, and I believe that every child should have the opportunity to learn to swim, not as a luxury but as a basic part of growing up safe and healthy. When families in Castlereagh South have to travel significant distances to access a pool, we are putting unnecessary barriers in their way. We should be making it easier for families, not harder. The residents whom I represent contribute a significant amount in rates, and they deserve to see the investment reflected in the facilities available to them, yet Castlereagh South continues to be underserved. This a community issue. It is not political, and the strength of the campaign lies in residents speaking with one voice. I appeal to elected representatives in the area to get behind the community-led effort, rather than fragment it. At the recent community meeting, it was agreed that parties would work together on this, and it is important that they do so. When we work together across party lines, we are more effective, but, when we put politics first, it is the community that loses out. The people who have signed the petition are not asking for anything unreasonable; they are asking for a leisure centre that will meet their needs, with a dedicated swimming pool at its heart. I urge the council to listen to those voices, act on the petition and commit to proper investment in Castlereagh South.
411 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.94).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.98).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.94 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.98 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.02 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.70 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.20 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.08 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.01 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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