Govt. no plans to make Ebrington car parks public
The government has no plans to open the car parks at Ebrington to the public, after taking over responsibility for the site from Ilex.
The newly formed Executive Office said usage figures for the £5.5m underground car park and the other overground car park built at Ebrington were not available.
The ‘Journal’ reported back in January 2015 that the public would not be admitted to the publicly funded undergound facility at Ebrington.
The confirmation from Ilex - the former Derry regeneration company tasked with delivering the project - sparked outrage among local people.
When Ilex was wound up in March, responsibility for Ebrington transferred back to the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, and since then to the Executive Office.
When asked whether they had any plans to change the status of the car parks, a spokesman for The Executive Office said: “The available car parks will be required to accommodate current and any future developments resulting from the soft market testing.”
He added: “The underground car park is being used by all tenants on the Ebrington site and by customers of the businesses located there.
“Planning authorities require parking to be available on the site for future businesses. The facility is used on a daily basis, however, usage figures are not available.”
He added that the entire site will transfer to the Derry and Strabane District Council in the future.