Economic difficulties have hit Northern Ireland hard, and the local councils have painted fake shop fronts and covered derelict buildings with giant billboards to disguise the economic problems the country is facing in the area near the golf resort that will be hosting the G8 summit this month, according to Reuters.
The government has spent two million pounds in the past two years addressing derelict buildings, according to the provinces environment department. They have demolished some buildings and redone others in an attempt at making them more appealing.
Northern Ireland has designated almost a quarter of their dereliction funds to local councilors in County Fermanagh in preparation of the upcoming summit, which will be held from June 17-18. The funds have gone to improvements on over 100 properties.
"The shop fronts are cosmetic surgery for serious wounds," Kevin Maguire, 62, an unemployed man who has lived in Belcoo his entire life, where improvements are taking place, told Reuters. "They are looking after the banks instead of saving good businesses.
"Where would you see a shop front in Northern Ireland like this anyway?" he continued. "It's more like something you'd find in Belgravia or Chelsea," he added, referring to neighborhoods in London.
This is not the first time Northern Ireland has done a project of this type. The province is still recovering from three decades of violence, what locals call "the troubles," that mostly, though not entirely, ended with a peace agreement 15 years ago.
"Northern Ireland is in the international spotlight so it is entirely right that we should portray it in the best light possible," Alex Attwood, the Environment minister of Northern Ireland, said in a statement. "We should do everything we can to make these areas as attractive for residents, tourists and consumers.
"If we want tourists to visit and stay longer, than tackling major eyesores and dereliction will certainly help," Attwood added.
Northern Ireland receives an annual grant from London that accounts for approximately half of public spending and which has played a large part in shielding the country from the economic crisis, though it has still been negatively affected by the economic downturn in lasting ways.
The five-star hotel that will host the G8 leaders has been in receivership since 2011.
Some residents of Belcoo wonder what will happen to the new shop fronts after the summit.
"In six months' time, how are these shops going to look?" Jim Leonard, a 50-year-old unemployed bricklayer, wondered. "They'll just be pieces of paper blowing around the ground."
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