Derry Christmas lights down the Strand Road to be costed

Members of the Council’s Environment & Regeneration Committee charged officers with reporting on the potential costs of the extra illuminations at its November meeting on Wednesday.

Sinn Féin Councillor Sandra Duffy, who proposed the measure, said: “I have called on the Council to find the funding to provide Christmas lighting for the Lower Strand Road.

“This is an integral part of our city centre but with lighting ending in around Waterloo place, it would seem that the Christmas spirit didn’t extend that far.

“This area has been through a full regeneration in the past few years .

“It has great shops, bars, restaurants and hotels with an ever-increasing footfall.

“We need to harness that, build on it and we should be supporting these businesses by ensuring that they are fully incorporated into the Derry City Centre Christmas lighting plans.”

During the meeting Conor Canning, the Council’s Head of Environment, advised members of the estimated cost of providing a Christmas Tree at Strathfoyle and festvia lights at Culmore, Killea and Drumahoe.

“The cost in year one, should all schemes proceed is in the order of £29,000 that includes infrastructure works, purchase of equipment, installation and take down with an annual recurring cost of £7,000,” reported Mr. Canning.

“Members should be aware that it may not be possible to add these areas to the wider scheme this year should funding be available given procurement and infrastructure requirements,” added the Council environment chief.