Derry people must have a key role to play in "shaping the destiny" of the city, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has told a regeneration conference in the city.
Mr. McGuinness was speaking at the Regenerating and Transforming our City” event which took place at the City Hotel. The conference was hosted by Derry’s urban regeneration company, Ilex.
“Communities must be included in shaping the destiny of thi
s city,” he said. “This is not only as a right but because it makes good sense. Local people are central in determining what is required and devising what will work.
“It will be local people who will, by and large, be responsible for delivery, in working in the industries and business we are seeking to encourage and having civic ownership of the completed development.”
He added: “For me, inclusion is about equality of participation. It is about being an equal partner in the decision making process. Like inclusion, equality is central to planning and to delivery. There is huge potential withini Ilex, potential which could and should redress the inequalities of the past.”
Mr. McGuinness said that the investments made in Derry today must “reap benefits” for everyone in the city.
Nobody excluded
“No section should be excluded or reduced to the role of spectators looking in the windows of bright shiny new buildings,” he said. “They must feel the benefits and ownership of these developments.”
The “easy days” of high return property development were over, he said.
“We need to think long-term, we need to think of sustainability, of how we use these investments to make a difference to the lives of those most in need in this city.
Turning to the development of the former army barracks at Ebrington, Mr. McGuinness said that, when fully redeveloped, it had the potential to provide thousands of jobs across many sectors.
