The Old Warren Estate, located one mile to the west of Lisburn town Centre, was built between 1966 and 1972 in three phases with each phases being separated from the others by an area of open space. The Estate, the largest in Lisburn, comprises around 1200 dwellings with a population of approximately 2500.
Old Warren Estate’s early population was made up mainly from those displaces as a result of the troubles from areas in West Belfast including Moyard and Suffolk.
Old Warren had seen violence as early as the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, to which its Protestant and loyalist inhabitants were fiercely opposed. During the 1990’s the estate became increasingly unpopular, due to a range of factors including increased community polarisation, discontent at the nature of the housing and the general quality of the environment. This led to a reduction in demand for dwellings, with many of those who could afford housing elsewhere moving out. Even after the ceasefires of 1994 this estate was said to be the second least popular estate in Northern Ireland by prospective residents.
A community regeneration journey began in the mid 1990’s and this has resulted in new community facilities – Laganview Enterprise Centre and Resurgam 3D Youth Centre.
Denis Paisley
Through Your Eyes 