Adrian’s artwork delivers festive cheer

The festive artwork of 11-year-old Adrian McVeigh from Castle Tower School in Ballymena has been chosen as Radius Housing’s 2021 Christmas Card.
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His drawing, of a bright Christmas tree with a message of love, will be on hundreds of cards that the housing association will send in December,

with the aim of bringing festive cheer.

Castle Tower School is adjacent to a new 135 home development on the site of the former St Patrick’s Barracks in Ballymena. Radius will begin construction on the site in Spring 2022.

Bringing Festive Cheer: Melanie Rintoul, Radius, Housing, with Christmas Card Competition winner Adrian McVeigh, and his teacher John McAllister.Bringing Festive Cheer: Melanie Rintoul, Radius, Housing, with Christmas Card Competition winner Adrian McVeigh, and his teacher John McAllister.
Bringing Festive Cheer: Melanie Rintoul, Radius, Housing, with Christmas Card Competition winner Adrian McVeigh, and his teacher John McAllister.

The Christmas Card competition was part of the outreach project Radius is undertaking with the local community, and Adrian’s design was selected from over 150 entries from the school.

On the St Patrick’s Barracks site, 20 of Radius Housing new homes are affordable properties for sale and represents an investment in excess of £26

million by Radius Housing. The project will support local community projects and will see a number of apprentice roles funded through the lifetime of the construction. Radius have been invited to bring the St. Patrick’s Barracks site on to the ‘Housing for All’ Programme which will see the scheme promoted as a shared neighbourhood.

Speaking about Adrian’s winning artwork, Grainne Mullin of Radius Housing said “We are delighted that Adrian has created this colourful, festive artwork for the Radius Christmas Card.

“Over the Christmas period Radius will send hundreds of these cards to our partners and friends in Northern Ireland.

“This is the first community project we have undertaken locally, and as work begins on the 135 new homes at the St Patrick’s Barracks site in early 2022, we look forward to more positive engagement with Castle Tower and the wider community.”

Alick Ford, teacher at Castle Tower, said: “Our pupils really enjoyed taking part and Adrian was thrilled when he saw his picture on the front of this year’s Christmas card.”

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