Glenowen Residents’ Association praises ‘successful’ Task Force

Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Glenowen Task Force, is set to wrap up.

Speaking to Derry Now, Ann Marie Wilson, the co-chairperson of the Glenowen Residents’ Association described the Task Force as “on the whole, successful”.

“There were a lot of patch jobs and a lot of grey areas remain regarding the adoption of land areas, but, on the whole, it’s been a successful group,” said Ms Wilson.

Council officers are planning to convene the final meeting of the Glenowen Task Force early next month. The meeting will review progress as part of the ‘task and finish’ arrangement of the group, before reverting to a business as usual approach.

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Environment and Regeneration committee, Cllr Emma McGinley described the Glenowen Task Force as a “model of best practice”.

“I know that the co-chairs of the Residents’ Association, Ann Marie [Wilson] and Joe [Blee] are very grateful for the relationships that have now been built between themselves, ourselves as elected representatives and all the statutory agencies who have responsibilities within Glenowen; we have made significant progress.”

Cllr John Boyle, who originally proposed the establishment of the Task Force said it was “something we may well be able to apply in other neighbourhoods, which all have different challenges”.

He said: “I get the sense that people are very thankful for the interventions that accrued from the Task Force. It is something we can build on and we can continue. It is primarily about how we approach things with a can-do attitude. I witnessed it and I felt it and, hopefully, that is something we can continue to progress.”

The Glenowen Task Force was set up in response to a motion passed by Council in May 2022, which related to addressing infrastructural and maintenance issues regarding the streetscape/public realm elements within the estate and establishing a multi-stakeholder Task Force to address the relevant matters.

Some of the issues originally highlighted by residents in Glenowen, which celebrated its Golden Jubilee in July 2023, and councillors included: defective boundary walls, defective steps and handrails, pedestrian accessibility issues associated with the steep topography of the estate, traffic management and highway safety considerations within the estate (and Hollyhall Road), and street lighting.

The Task Force, which met on a quarterly basis, comprised local councillors, Department for Infrastructure (DfI), Roads, NI Housing Executive, Apex, NI Water, Firmus Energy and Council Officers. Its initial focus was to address the immediate maintenance issues considered to be potential health and safety issues and in need of urgent repair.

Following a Task Force visit to Glenowen in February 2023 along with members of the Glenowen Residents’ Association, a list of key streetscape priorities was identified and agreed; since then, the Task Force met regularly to review progress on the key issues identified and to track progress on the remediation works.

Most of the streetscape issues identified, fell outside of the operation control / ownership of Council, and were largely the responsibility of Apex Housing Association and DfI, Roads.

According to a report presented to councillors at Wednesday meeting, Apex and DfI “have been working constructively to address the defective steps, handrails and walls through a collaborative working arrangement which has seen many of the defects rectified”.

The report added: “There are however some minor outstanding issues currently being reviewed which require further clarification around ownership and responsibility.

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“In addition to the repairs to steps, walls and handrails, the Task Force has also addressed issues in respect of clarifying the location of fire hydrants with the input of Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and NI Water.

“Furthermore, Council has proactively addressed issues in relation to street numbering signage, provision of new litter bins, and initiating a regular street cleansing schedule. Department for Infrastructure, Roads has also added additional street lighting columns to particular areas of the estate identified by the resident’s group.

“The Task Force also considered traffic management and highway safety issues along the Hollyhall Road, near to the entrance of Glenowen, in order to address safety concerns raised by residents. Department for Infrastructure, Roads responded proactively to these concerns and initiated measures to reduce traffic speeds on this road,” said the Council report.

The Glenowen Task Force also considered traffic management issues within the estate; it is actively following up concerns raised in relation to the presence of potholes with Department for the Environment, Roads.

According to the Derry City and Strabane District Council report, the The future role of the Glenowen Task Force was acknowledged by all members of the Task Force at its last meeting in July 2024, “in terms of having / nearing completion of the key actions/issues identified”.