Austins condition assessment due to be completed by next month

A special taskforce was set up by Derry City and Strabane District Council to safeguard the iconic former department store in the Diamond.

Austins closed on March 8, 2016 with the loss of 53 jobs, after trading in the city centre for 186 years.

A paper due to be laid before the Council’s Governance and Strategic Planning Committee on Tuesday afternoon reveals that a ‘conservation-led condition assessment’ funded by the Department for Communities Historic Environment Division is due to be completed by the middle of next month.

"Members are advised that following the agreed actions of the October 2023 Task Force meeting, Officers from the Environment & Regeneration Department have initiated a procurement exercise to select a conservation architect to undertake the condition assessment.

"Following this exercise, Mullarkey Pederson architects have been appointed. The commission has commenced and is expected to be completed by mid-February 2024, following which the draft report will be presented to the next Task Force meeting for consideration - estimated to be by the end of February 2024,” the paper outlines.

Prior to the Austins closing its doors almost eight years ago it was one of the oldest continuing trading department stores in the world and predated Macy’s in New York City, Jenners in Edinburgh and Harrods in London.

It was established by Thomas Austin from the Limavady area in 1830 and was latterly operated by the Hasson family for many decades.

Taskforce to probe state of Derry’s iconic Austins store