New documents submitted as Austins revitalisation plans progress in Derry
A series of new documents have been submitted with Derry City & Strabane District Council as ambitious proposals for the revitalisation of Austins of the Diamond in Derry city centre continue to progress.
Conservation management plans, damp and timber inspections, fabric conditions reports, structural reports and a range of planning documents have been newly submitted in support of the Inner City Trust proposals to develop the former department store as a cultural hub.
Last month the Inner City Trust applied to DC&SDC for permission to turn the storied building that has been empty since 2016 into a ‘cultural hub building, comprising of exhibition, library, and meeting facilities’.
A raft of new supporting documents have now been submitted in support of the development.
Austins of the Diamond first opened in 1830 and was Ireland’s oldest department store when it closed ten years ago.
The Derry institution predated Harrod’s Department Store in London by 15 years and Macys Department Store in New York by 25 years.