Press Release

Mayor announces commencement of the first project under Walled City Townscape Heritage Initiative

Monday, 22 November 2004

The Mayor, Councillor Gearoid O’hEara today announced details of the first project to commence work under the Walled City Townscape Heritage Initiative.

The B2 listed building at 2 Castle Street/14 Shipquay Street in the city centre is the first of a series of city centre buildings to benefit from a substantial restoration and regeneration initiative, administered by the Walled City Partnership and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The building, which has fallen into a poor state of repair, was built in 1825 and was originally designed for use as a public library and reading room. Funding has been secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Department for Social Development (Urban Development Grant), Northern Ireland Housing Executive (Living Over The Shop) and Planning Service (Townscape Heritage Initiative). This joint funding, through the Initiative, will allow the building to be extensively repaired and refurbished and will incorporate three new retail units onto Castle Street, restaurant and commercial offices onto Shipquay Street and provide six apartments on the upper floors accessed from the Castle Street entrance.

Endorsing the project, the Mayor, Councillor Gearoid O’hEara said he fully supported the Townscape Heritage Initiative’s work in promoting the sustainable and viable use of historic buildings in the city.

He commented: “I am delighted that work has commenced on what is the first of a number projects concerning historic buildings in the city. The Castle Street/Shipquay Street premises is an exciting project and I look forward to seeing how this progresses and develops. I am confident that on completion the building will significantly benefit commercial regeneration within Castle Street and will make a significant contribution to the historic streetscape of the area, to be enjoyed and used by the people of the city.” He also paid tribute to the organisations involved in the project and said he was delighted at the joint successful partnership that exists within the Walled City Partnership.

The Heritage Lottery Fund Grant has been made under HLF’s Townscape Heritage Initiative, which helps to repair and regenerate the historic environment in towns and cities throughout the UK.

The HLF’s manager in Northern Ireland Kevin Baird, said “This project is testament to the fact that lottery money is making real difference, not just in restoring our heritage but in creating new opportunities and building a great future for many communities.”

The Walled City Partnership was formed as a charitable organisation and comprises the Foyle Civic Trust, Derry City Council and City Centre Initiative with advisers from DoE Planning Service, North West Development Office and Northern Ireland Housing Executive. The Partnership is responsible for administering a grant from the THI of £1,000,000 spread over five years and will continue to work closely with the relevant agencies to co-ordinate the operation of the other grant aiding sources.

The Walled City THI scheme of restoration, repair and economic regeneration is focused on over 40 properties within Shipquay Street, Shipquay Place, Waterloo Place, Waterloo Street, and Castle Street. The THI scheme has a five-year life cycle during which works are to be phased, with all work completed by the end of year five.

Mary McLaughlin, Chairman of the Walled City Partnership and Foyle Civic Trust member, said she was delighted to announce details of the first project to be undertaken as part of the scheme.

She commented: “We are extremely excited about the commencement of this project. The proposed works will greatly enhance the visual appearance of the historic property, and we are confident that its new use will provide an important stimulus to commercial growth within Castle Street and Shipquay Street. We look forward to working closely with local property owners and the relevant organisations to ensure that we can create a vibrant city centre that respects its historic character and which can be enjoyed by citizens and visitors alike. This is the first of what will be a significant number of projects to be undertaken under the Townscape Heritage Initiative and we look forward to announcing details of future projects that are expected to commence shortly.”

Housing Executive Regeneration Officer, Gerry McCauley, said that the Housing Executive welcomes the opportunity to be involved in the regeneration of the city centre:

“ We recognize that Living Over The Shops initiative (LOTS), an important element of town centre living, has an important role to play in the regeneration of Derry City centre. The main aim of LOTS is to provide residential accommodation within vacant or underused upper floors of shops and other commercial buildings within the town centre area. The scheme which we are acknowledging today certainly fulfills this aim.”

Declan O’Hare, the North West Development Officer said: “As one of the key members of the Walled City Partnership the North West Development Office has used its Urban Development Grant scheme to contribute funding of £154k to this project, which will bring a property occupying a prominent location at the junction of Castle St and Shipquay St back into use. The refurbished property will provide a mix of retail and residential accommodation on one of the major thoroughfares within the City Walls.

The North West Development Office is committed to the promotion of economic regeneration within the Walled City as a means of securing a prosperous city centre that people want to visit, work and live in. This mixed- use development, providing facilities and amenities accessible to all, will contribute significantly to that objective.”

Mary MacIntrye, Londonderry Divisional Planning Manager, (DOE) commented: “Planning Service are delighted with the commencement of this first project and will continue to support both financially and through an advisory capacity, the implementation of the rest of the THI scheme. “It should be acknowledged that this has been achieved as a result of long term efforts and commitment from both statutory and voluntary agencies within the local Partnership.”

“Planning Service are particularly excited with this scheme as it seeks to regenerate an area which incorporates both prime city centre frontages and is within the City Walls which is designated as a Conservation Area. We will therefore look forward to participating in the development of similar high quality projects in the future, which will protect and enhance buildings within the Historic City Conservation Area and encourage others to follow suit, “ she added.

Notes to Editor:

The Walled City Townscape Heritage Initiative is one of 16No. initiatives supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund across Northern Ireland. To date over £10 million pounds has been committed by the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the refurbishment of historic buildings in Northern Ireland, as a means of achieving economic regeneration of the historic built environment.

The Walled City Townscape Heritage Initiative was launched in September 2003. At present there are a further 17No. properties where consultants have been appointed to draw up proposals for their repair and refurbishment, all at varying stages of development.

About Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy. This year marks the 10th birthday of the Lottery. Since its conception, HLF have supported 15,000 projects allocating over £3 billion across the UK. In Northern Ireland we have awarded more than £90 million to over 400 projects.

THI provides grants of between £250,000 and £2 million to help local partnerships regenerate historic areas of their towns and cities through financial support for repair and other work to a number of historic properties. The programme, which aims to support around 20 schemes each year, is designed to tackle problems in areas of particular social and economic need throughout the United Kingdom.

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