DERRY JOURNAL Editorial: Hugely significant housing project

The announcement by Braidwater that it will spend £450m building 3,000 new social, affordable and private homes on the ‘H2’ lands between Whitehouse and Coshquin may, in time, be seen as significant in the history of the expansion of Derry as the creation of Creggan and Shantallow were in the 1940s and 1960s.
By Kevin Mullan
Published 22nd Oct 2020, 18:51 BST
Updated 22nd Oct 2020, 19:00 BST
‘URBAN VILLAGE’... This aerial photo shows the site outline for the location of ‘The Cashel’ housing development at Buncrana Road.‘URBAN VILLAGE’... This aerial photo shows the site outline for the location of ‘The Cashel’ housing development at Buncrana Road.
‘URBAN VILLAGE’... This aerial photo shows the site outline for the location of ‘The Cashel’ housing development at Buncrana Road.

‘The Cashel’ - a proposed new urban village set on 250 acres of former farmland overlooking the Buncrana Road - will add a net increase to the number of households in the city of around 8 per cent.

Cumulatively, with the rapid expansion of housing on the H1 lands at Skeoge and Upper Galliagh immediately opposite, the planned new development will result in a whole new northern suburb stretching to nearly as far as the Donegal border.

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As well as creating hundreds of constructions jobs and work for subcontractors and suppliers, the project will greatly enhance the am0unt of housing stock in the city, making affordable housing more widely available.

Pictured at Skeoge roundabout with the H2 lands in the background are (L-r): Patrick McGinnis, Chief Executive of Braidwater, Joe McGinnis, Managing Director of Braidwater, Vincent Bradley, Development Director at Braidwater, Cllr Brian Tierney, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Dermot Mullan, Finance Director at Braidwater.Pictured at Skeoge roundabout with the H2 lands in the background are (L-r): Patrick McGinnis, Chief Executive of Braidwater, Joe McGinnis, Managing Director of Braidwater, Vincent Bradley, Development Director at Braidwater, Cllr Brian Tierney, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Dermot Mullan, Finance Director at Braidwater.
Pictured at Skeoge roundabout with the H2 lands in the background are (L-r): Patrick McGinnis, Chief Executive of Braidwater, Joe McGinnis, Managing Director of Braidwater, Vincent Bradley, Development Director at Braidwater, Cllr Brian Tierney, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Dermot Mullan, Finance Director at Braidwater.

Vincent Bradley, development director at Braidwater, has described it as the largest housing development to be built in the north in a decade. Detailed plans will be submitted to Derry City and Strabane District Council before the end of 2020.

If approved, the development will proceed in phases. Phase 1 will entail an initial investment of £100m that will deliver a mix of 800 homes. Two hundred and fifty construction jobs and apprenticeships will be created.

The project is, of course, being led by Braidwater, which has a track record of delivering high quality housing and construction projects across the north.

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Though named after the River Braid, due to a project completed in Ballymena over thirty years ago, the Braidwater firm is very much a Derry success story.

Driven by the McGinnis family, based in Eglinton, the firm promises to deliver community buildings, schools, shops and convenience facilities and a central park in the new development , which will be carbon neutral and feature new cycle and road infrastructure. Hope for the future in these grim times.

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