Almost 1 in 5 Strabane town business and shop premises vacant

Derry City and Strabane District Council members have now urged officers to identify derelict and unused commercial sites in town centres across the district.

The call followed an update report on Strabane town centre vacancies, which was presented to members at this month’s Environment and Regeneration Committee meeting on Wednesday, November 13.

A vacancy audit, undertaken collaboratively by Council officers and the Business Improvement District (BID) for Strabane Town Centre, found that 18 percent of the town’s commercial premises were vacant as of October, including six vacancies at Abercorn Square, four at Butcher Street, and six at Lower Main Street.

UUP Alderman Derek Hussey it was “very good to have this information”, and argued that it would be useful to carry out similar surveys “to establish the vacant sites that exist in some of our larger settlements throughout the entire district”.

He added: “When the painting scheme in Castlederg was being brought forward there were issues as to vacant properties and not knowing ownership, so that sort of survey at all of our settlements would be extremely useful for any projects that council are taking forward.”

Director of Environment and Regeneration, Karen Phillips, said there was some pertinent information on other areas, and she would contact the council’s Director of Business and Culture and find out the details.

Ms Philips concluded: “There’s some vacancy information available through Central Government but this one in particular has been undertaken in conjunction with the Strabane BID, so it’s more detailed.

“It will certainly be very useful for us, as we move to some of the major regeneration plans for Strabane, about how it impacts on these particular figures, etc.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter.