Cultúrlann relodges proposal for Irish Language student accommodation in former school house and gym
Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin has resubmitted an application to convert an old school house in Derry into an Irish Language Community Hub with accommodation for 20 students.
An application was originally lodged for the development at 33 Great James Street in 2017.
This week An Cultúrlann resubmitted the application for the development between the Glassworks and the Royal Mail sorting office.
The intention is to create student accommodation for 20 students as part of a master plan for the creation of an Irish Language Community Hub, according to the fresh application.
A design and access statement submitted in support of the proposal notes that the building was designed as a private residence in 1850 but was later converted into a schoolhouse known as the Strand House School in 1860.
This was an 'intermediate school for young ladies' that operated for half a century before relocating to Asylum Road where it is no longer extant.
The building remained vacant between 1905 and 1920 but was purchased by a Thomas May in 1922 who used the lower floors for his electrical engineering businesses while the upper flowers were concerted into a shirt factory, the statement adds.
Records from 1985 refer to it as being used as a 'beauty parlour and gymnasium' which was the last recorded use before it was taken over by An Gaeláras.
"Originally conceived as a private residence the conversion to student accommodation will assist in filling in the large open spaces created over the years for factory/gymnasium uses and return the building to its more original cellular nature," the statement advises.