Dervock & District Community Association
Trustees Report 2023-2024 Prepared for AGM held on July 2025
During this financial year 23-24 D&DCA like many other groups, was still responding to the pandemic. Activities during COVID19 included delivering food parcels, taxi runs for people shopping, delivering newspapers and shopping to local residents as well as publicise the current health guidelines.
Activities post COVID19 included D&DCA taking stock of their future plans and consulting with local residents as to what they would like to see in the village and surrounding areas.
At this time D&DCA was also instrumental in setting up the North Antrim Villages Forum which formed a lobby for change in 5 local villages including Dervock. The newspapers cited these villages as ‘ Forgotten Villages’ and so it was vital to collaborate to try and improve the social, economic and environment for our village communities.
Local residents suggested women’s group, mens group, history of the village and good practice visits.
D&DCA applied for funding and based on the success of these funding applications delivered the following:
Dervock ‘Through the Lens of History’: Heritage Lottery funded activities including published book of local stories and poems and under production is a 60 min video of village history, stories and song.
Linked with Building Communities Resource Centre (BCRC) with the ‘Lifting Horizons’ and ‘Pathway’ Projects for study visits to learn about cultural diversity on a cross border and NI basis – visits to COAGH and Manorhamiliton.
With Council Food Hardship fund purchased and distributed supermarket vouchers to help people with their shopping in cost of living crisis and bought food hampers.
Linked with Council [CC&GBC] – facilitated a Personal Living Account programme to enable local people to get SIA license as door security guards [training for job creation].
EA Planned Intervention funding is enabling training for young people on internet safety, drugs, bullying and criminality. Will reapply to EA based on the success of this project for 9-14 year olds.
Employed a community warden for scheduled village clean ups.
Trying to resurrect Kennedy Kane McArthur half-marathon [in memory famous Dervock Marathon Gold Medallist Kennedy Kane McArthur] and will look into training for volunteers to assist PSNI with road closures.
Providing Admin services at ‘Community house’ free of charge.
Connections with Loughgiel through President McCartney and hoping to link with Council re: promoting local village heritage.
Re-enactments during the ‘Queens’ event and the Kings Charles III Coronation event – linked with other local community festivals involving the local flute band and annual parades.
Environmental clean-ups – linked with NIHE and sourced equipment and tools.
Dervock Youth Network created – EA Planned Intervention programme
D&DCA would like to thank all our funders National Lottery Heritage Fund, Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council, Halifax Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, Arts Council NI, Ulster Scots Agency and NI Housing Executive.
D&DCA thank all those who participate in events and activities as well as those who facilitate our group work including BCRC.
D&DCA thank the NIHE for the Community House which forms a centre to operate from and is at the heart of the community enabling drop in facilities.