“This is alarming news to hear that USEL may have to close the cafe due to a budget shortfall which seems to stem from funding issues at the Department of Communities.
I believe the shortfall to be in the range of around £50,000 which in the scheme of things is not a huge sum that the Department of Communities should in my view be able to find. I believe that 20,000 visitors visited the Windmill last year and without this funding, the numbers will suffer.
I have submitted a priority Assembly question and written to both USEL and the Department of Community as a matter of urgency and hope that something can be done to resolve this issue. I have also written to the Minister for communities to ask him to come down and visit the Windmill and cafe. This not only affects visitors it also affects residents and young people from the area doing working experience and employment.”
