Proposals to transform the old Austins into a cultural hub with a library, café and exhibition space, have been lodged with Derry City & Strabane District Council.

The Inner City Trust has submitted fresh proposals for the change of use from a department store to ‘a cultural hub building, comprising of exhibition, library, and meeting facilities’.

Austins of the Diamond was one of the oldest department stores in the world until it closed its doors in 2016. It has lain dormant ever cince.

The new proposals from the ICT include a rear extension from the first to fourth floor levels, according to the planning application.

placeholder image — Austins of the Diamond

The old Austins café, meanwhile, is set to be relocated from the third floor to the top floor while internal and external alterations and the full refurbishment and restoration of the building are also in planning.

Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said: “The redevelopment of Austin’s has been at the forefront of proposals to regenerate Derry city centre and these new plans are exciting progress in bringing this historic building back into public use.

"Generations of Derry people have happy memories of visiting Austin’s with friends and family, and now young people will be able to make their own as it is reimagined as a community and cultural hub in the heart of our city.

“I have been working for years alongside the ICT to identify and secure the necessary funding to breathe new life into the former department store, and I can think of no better use than a library and hub that can contribute to the public good, creating space for arts, culture, events and exhibitions.”

Austins of the Diamond, which first opened in 1830, was Ireland’s oldest department store when it closed its doors in March 2016.

The vacant building was purchased by the ICT in 2025 through a £1.2m grant from Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

A design and access statement prepared by Mullarkey Pedersen Architects says the works will ‘secure the long-term future of the building through a carefully considered programme of repair, restoration and sensitive adaptation’.

"The design retains the elements of greatest architectural significance while introducing limited and clearly defined interventions that enable the building to function effectively for contemporary use.

The original Austins of the Diamond was destroyed by fire in the early 1900s.

"By stabilising the historic fabric, restoring the architectural quality of the principal façades, and bringing the building back into active use, the proposal will preserve the significance of this important Grade A listed building while contributing positively to the vitality of the city centre and the wider conservation area.

"In doing so, the proposal represents a balanced and conservation-led approach which ensures that the architectural, historic and townscape value of Austins can be safeguarded and appreciated for generations to come,” the D&A states.

Mr. Eastwood said: “Following on from the announcement of work on the old Danske Bank building, this is another vote of confidence in our city centre.”

Prior to its closure Austins was ‘the oldest family-owned department store in the world...predating Harrod’s Department Store in London by 15 years and Macys Department Store in New York by 25 years’, according to MPA.

The current five-storey Edwardian structure was built to designs by M.A. Robinson in 1906 after a fire gutted the original building.