‘Great to see progress being made’: Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly announce £9m investment during Derry visit
The First and Deputy First Ministers have praised developments across Derry as they announced a further funding package for the Bogside, Fountain & Bishop Street Urban Renewal project on Thursday.
During a visit to the city, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly confirmed that they have signed off on a further £9million investment to allow for the Urban Villages Initiative to develop four new capital projects in the north, including The Realm Project in Derry.
The Ministers made the announcement as they carried out a range of visits in the north west including the North West Disability Centre run by Destined and Ebrington, where they met with local businesses.
Michelle O’Neill said: “During our visit to the North West Disability Centre we visited ‘Framed to Perfection’, one of the social enterprises run by Destined which provides work for people with learning disabilities. It was a privilege to meet those working there and hear at first-hand how they are benefitting most from the services provided.
“It was also great to see the progress being made at Ebrington which is now a hub of creative industries with cafes, restaurants and other businesses on the site.”
Emma Little-Pengelly added: “Ebrington is now an impressive site with so much to offer. With a number of major events planned for this year, including the All-Ireland Pipe Bands Championships in July, it is clear Ebrington has become a vibrant, inclusive site which will bring a range of benefits to the local community.
“It was also great to get the chance to visit Destined and hear about their fantastic work. Although this is one of the smaller Urban Village capital projects, it is clear the impact has been huge.”
The Urban Villages Capital Plan aims to promote good relations and provide local communities with ‘much-needed physical regeneration’ across five areas. The Bogside, Fountain and Bishop Street initiative is the only one of the five outside Belfast. The newly announced £9m will be spent on four new capital projects in addition to the 71 projects being delivered across the five areas, bringing the total Urban Renewal investment to £124m.
As part of this, The Realm project in Derry involves the development of a network of revamped, high quality neighbourhood public realm improvements across the Fountain, Bogside and Bishop Street and will also consider vacancy and dereliction throughout the area.
New Gate Apartments is a sub-project of The Realm and will see the refurbishment of two adjoining properties beside UV’s New Gate Arts and Culture Centre in the Fountain.
The Realm project also includes plans to install natural stone paving and handrails in front of the City Walls overlooking the Bogside with the corner with Bishop’s Gate to be redesigned, with the steps and handrail going down to the Bogside replaced and landscaping around St Columb’s Wells.
Other elements include the potential reintroduction of through traffic to Bennett Street/ Bishop Street, new pedestrian connection to Nailors Row, ‘living green wall’ to enhance the under-carriage of the Lecky Road flyover, pedestrian walkway streetscape improvements from the Gasyard to Meenan Square, and upgrades for the Long Tower and Bishop Street area.
New street furniture, lighting, crossing points, laneway refurbishments are also envisioned for various parts of The Fountain as well as an access to the existing MUGA and a new multi-use greenspace.