By Alan Healy

Plans have been unveiled for a massive new office block development in Derry’s city centre (pictured below).

The £6m proposal, which is being put forward by the Derry-based Martin Group, would see a derelict building which currently occupies a corner site of Fountain Street and Hawkin Street transformed into a massive new office block measuring 45,000 sq ft.

The developers claim that the new offices could create more than 350 new jobs, with a further 150 jobs created during the construction phase.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting in the Fountain area this week, where the plans were unveiled ahead of a planning application being lodged with the local planning authority, Derry City and Strabane District Council.

In February of last year, the Martin Group was given planning approval to convert the former Robert Sinclair & Co shirt factory building at the junction of Abercorn Road and Wapping Lane into an apartment block.

At the time, a spokesperson for the Martin Group said that they planned to eventually turn the building into offices, and that it was involved in discussions with a company that could bring up to 400 new jobs to the city.

However, the Derry News understands that the Abercorn Road building, which was built in 1863, will now retain its original purpose as an apartment block.

The original plan had been to construct 88 new apartments at the site.

At a public meeting to discuss the apartment plans, some residents living in surrounding areas raised concerns over the proposals.

A public consultation on the new office block plans is due to begin this month, with the Martin Group hoping to begin work at the site in December, with a proposed handover date set for November 2018 once construction work is completed.

The group has described the project as an ‘exciting new proposal which will achieve many of the objectives of the Local Development Plan (LDP) 2032’.

It added that the new development will ‘create a thriving, prosperous and sustainable city centre’ and ‘help regenerate an important part of the city centre’.

The developers have added that the new offices will ‘help put Derry on the map as a location for international businesses to locate’, add over £10m of salaries to the local economy, and also generate additional rates in excess of £200,000 per annum.

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