15-acre Arntz factory site sold to Derry’s Moviebowl owners

The owners of the site have agreed to sell it to local company, Fortuna Enterprises Ltd, owned by the Simpsons, who also own the Brunswick Bowling Alley/ Cinema complex, which is adjacent to the expansive site, and several other businesses across the north west.

It was unclear as of yesterday what the new owners, who have invested heavily in businesses across the north west region, will do with their new 15 acre acquisition.

Full planning permission was granted to a different group of developers back in February 2019 for a cityside medical centre and supermarket / restaurant complex following years of preparatory works.

The applicants at the time had envisioned leasing the medical centre site to local health authorities for a primary care cityside health facility, and proposals for the overall project, including site works, access and traffic management had been consulted on.

The developers said just a few months ago that they were ‘shovel ready’ to begin work on the hub if the Western Trust agree to develop the much-needed facility for Derry’s cityside.

However it emerged within days of planning permission being granted that the Western Trust had expressed interest in the nearby former military base at Fort George, which was returned to public ownership for the benefit of local people after the Ministry of Defence vacated the site around the turn of the millennium.

A total of 11 expressions of interest for the Fort George site had been lodged, including one for a landmark maritime tourist attraction, but the Department for Communities, which has taken over governance of the riverfront base, announced that it had chosen to give the Trust the chance to elaborate on its proposals.

A decision on whether to progress with this is expected shortly, as the Trust had until the Spring to advance upon its initial proposals. The Western Trust said back in November that they were still developing their proposals for the former army base.