Council embarks on consultation on proposed new cemetery

Last year Council confirmed that it had successfully acquired lands at 64 Mullenan Road, Mullenan, Derry BT48 9XW with a view to developing a new cemetery that will cater for the long term, strategic burial needs of the City for the foreseeable future. This rural site will be accessed via a new entrance from Mullenan Road.

This hugely significant Council capital development project has taken 10 years to reach this stage and follows due diligence by Council’s internal team who have worked to identify and assess a number of potential sites. Following extensive technical assessments, it was agreed that the Mullenan Road site is the most suitable for a development of this nature and scale.

As part of the engagement process Council is inviting comments from the general public on the proposed development and is hosting a public information event next month to assist with this process.

The public information event is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 4th October 2022 between 3pm and 9pm at Ballougry Primary School, 30 Mullenan Road, Derry, BT48 9XN, where members of the public are encouraged to attend. Details of the project will be available for the public to view and officers from Council will be available to provide information and answer questions.

Encouraging people to attend and get involved in the consultation process, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Cllr Sandra Duffy said this was a hugely significant capital investment by Council.

She said: “The public information session is an excellent way for the public to find out more about the project and I would encourage all interested parties to come along and be part of this important engagement process.”

“The proposed development will see the establishment of a Cemetery that includes provision of approximately 4000 burial plots with associated parking/landscaping. It will also include a memorial service building & garden, repositories for ashes, conversion of existing dwelling to admin building, removal of existing outbuildings and construction of operations buildings/yard. A new footway link will be made to Ballougry Road to facilitate pedestrian/cycle connection to the ‘Line’ greenway”.

The Mayor explained that the public meeting is part of a three-month pre-application community consultation period that is required prior to Council submitting a major planning application under the Planning Act (NI) 2011.

For those who are unable to attend the information session on 4th October, there will also be the facility to view the proposals and give feedback via Council’s online consultation facility, which will be available from 4th October at https://www.derrystrabane.com/consultations. Hard copies of the proposals will also be available to view at the reception of Councils offices at 98 Strand Road Derry and 47 Derry Road Strabane.

A written submission can also be forwarded to Council directly and should be marked – New Municipal Cemetery, Mullenan Road, Mullenan, Derry, and addressed to Derry City and Strabane District Council, 98 Strand Road, Derry~Londonderry, BT48 7NN.

The deadline for submissions is – 4.00pm on Friday, 18th November 2022.

The public are asked to note that representations in relation to this proposal must not be made to the Planning Service at this stage and advised that when a planning application is formally submitted there will be an opportunity to do so.