Council steps in to help secure new Rosemount Resource Centre

Derry City & Strabane District Council is expected to offer to make up a shortfall in funding for a planned new community facility for Rosemount.
The Rosemount Resource Centre, Derry. DER4814MC007The Rosemount Resource Centre, Derry. DER4814MC007
The Rosemount Resource Centre, Derry. DER4814MC007

SDLP councillor for the area, Shauna Cusack,has congratulated council on its decision to provide the money needed in order to progress the major rebuild works at Rosemount Resource Centre.

However, the ‘Journal’ understands that the decision emanating from a council committee meeting last week, would have to be ratified by the full council towards the end of this month.

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Colr. Cusack said: “Letters of Offer have been forwarded by the Department of Communities offering over £900,000 in order to deliver a new state of the art centre for those living in and the around Rosemount area.

“However there was still a considerable shortfall which needed to be found in order to progress the project.

“Last week in council I asked officers to ensure, by any means possible, that this money be found, otherwise the Department funding could be lost and this would have a domino effect on capital projects elsewhere in the city and district.

“I’m delighted that this money has been secured and approved which will see this exciting project get underway.

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“I appreciate this was not an easy ask given the centre is not a council-owned facility, but the services it will provide to the local community fit precisely into our strategic plans and ambitions.”

Derry & Strabane District Council last month pledged to help look at ways of addressing the funding shortfall for the new Rosemount Resource Centre building.

The project involves demolishing the old Rosemount Resource Centre and building a new modern community facility.

At the earlier meeting, Colr. Cusack maintained that without council making up the shortfall by the end of March, the project could not progress.

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Chief Executive of the council, John Kelpie, said at the time that council had received correspondence from the Resource Centre on February 22 and officer teams were meeting with DfC “to understand the scale of the issue; to understand how that gap could be bridged or whether there would be other solutions to it and certainly bringing the knowledge we can to the table.”

The Department said that back in October the new building will house current services and facilities as well as a new men’s health shed, a fishing club, reading club and other ‘Healthy Mind’ programmes.

Planning for the Rosemount Resource Centre project was approved back in May last year.