Senior DSD Officials Visit Regeneration Projects In Londonderry

28 February 2005
SENIOR DSD OFFICIALS VISIT REGENERATION PROJECTS IN LONDONDERRY
Members of the Department for Social Development's Departmental Management Board held their monthly meeting in Londonderry today. This was the first time that the Board had met in the city.

In addition to transacting normal business they took the opportunity to meet staff in the North West Development Office and to visit two regeneration projects - Triax, the pilot Neighbourhood Renewal Taskforce, which has been established to take forward the implementation of the Department's new Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy in the Bogside, Brandywell, Creggan and Fountain areas of the city, and the Northside Village Centre in Shantallow, which received grant aid of over Ł3.2m through programmes administered by the Department.

Speaking during the visit, Permanent Secretary, Alan Shannon, said: "DSD maintains a significant presence in Londonderry and staff from the Department provides services to many of the city's people. The Social Security Agency operates the Pension Centre located in a former shirt factory on Carlisle Road which provides a single point of contact for pension credit customers and, in partnership with the Department of Employment and Learning, recently opened two Jobs and Benefits Offices in the City. The Agency also maintains a facility at Lisahally where satellite services are provided.

"The North West Development Office has played a very significant role in both the physical and social regeneration of the City. Projects such as the Richmond Centre, Northside Village Centre, Rath Mor Centre, Foyleside and Ebrington, together with a wide range of environmental improvements to the City Walls, main streets within the walled city and arterial routes are testimony to this work. There is still much to be done and implementation of the Department's new Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy will be an important focus for NWDO in the years ahead.

"The Neighbourhood Renewal in Derry/Londonderry Implementation Plan will be published within the next couple of weeks. The North West Development Office is working closely with a wide range of organisations in the public, private, community and voluntary sectors to establish Neighbourhood Partnership Boards which will take forward implementation of the Strategy in the four target areas in the City, which encompass almost 50% of the City's population."

Turning to physical regeneration, Mr Shannon highlighted the recent launch of the Consultation Document on the future of the former Clooney Military Base on the Limavady Road and said:

"The availability of this strategically important site provides a unique opportunity to unlock the enormous potential of land on a main arterial route into the City. In addition, regeneration of the site could act as a catalyst for change across the city and deliver benefits to local people on both sides of the River Foyle. I would urge anyone with an interest in regeneration in Londonderry to consider the document carefully and to make their views known to the North West Development Office."

He continued: "Within the next few weeks NWDO will publish a Developers Brief for the former City Hotel site on Foyle Street inviting expressions of interest for the development of this important site."

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