Brand new New Gate Arts & Culture Centre’s hub a huge asset for Fountain and Derry

He was speaking as the centre at the corner of Hawkin Street and Kennedy Street and just yards from New Gate on the Derry Walls was officially opened on Thursday.

“We are hugely excited to see the Centre completed and the doors open to the public.

"This investment is a huge boost to the local community and allows us to continue with the positive work we are doing to promote the work that is going on in our community and reaching out to others to share and enjoy our unique cultures and traditions.

"This new state of the art building allows us to expand our ability to facilitate more activities and events and invite communities from across the city and region to participate and visit this unique shared space,” said Mr. Thompson.

The new centre has been facilitated through a £2.3 million investment by The Executive Office to create an inclusive shared space for communities to host events and initiatives in a state-of-the-art community facility.

The new centre includes a performance and multi-use space, art and tuition rooms, a dance studio, offices and café.

NWCP CEO, Brian Dougherty said: “The centre represents the core focal point in establishing our strategic vision of ‘building a future of confident, creative, and connected people’.

"By providing further physical infrastructure for our six member groups and broad constituent base, it will allow us to fulfil not only an exciting and creative annual cultural programme but will provide the administrative base for our programme staff to continue developing our civic leadership initiatives.”

Part of the new building has been constructed on the site of the former headquarters of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in Derry which collapsed in 2013.

The New Gate has been operating as a cultural hub in the Fountain for years but the brand new accommodation offers significantly improved facilities.

Joan O’Hara, Director, The Executive Office’s Urban Villages programme, said: “This is a fantastic regeneration project for the Fountain area of the city and across the region to provide a shared cultural space right in the heart of the local community.

"The centre will invigorate the area and encourage the community to come together to celebrate their culture and backgrounds in a space that will use the arts to create new experiences and friendships. We look forward to enjoying this collaborative voice and its potential in the years to come.”

Mayor of Derry City & Strabane District Council, Patricia Logue said: "The New Gate Arts and Culture Centre plays a hugely positive role in the local community through the provision of services and activities as well as improving the physical environment of the Fountain area.

"I am delighted that this investment has been completed successfully and that the residents of the Fountain and the wider area can now enjoy this new state of the art performance and cultural facility on their doorstep.”

The project is the culmination of the development of the Urban Villages Strategic Framework for Derry in 2016 and the preparation of the Fountain Area Strategic Overview in 2018.

Pioneering unionist New Gate festival attended by Mary Lou McDonald has outgrown its Fountain base