More than £700k generated from off-street car parks in County Derry

Off-street car parks in the Causeway Coast and Glens council area have generated more than £700,000 of annual revenue in recent years, according to figures released by the Department of Infrastructure.

In response to an EIR request, the Department revealed the revenue generated by off-street car parks from 2010 until off-street parking became the responsibility of local councils in April 2015.

The figures show that 2013-2014 was the most successful year for off-street car parks in the area, with £830,637 of revenue generated. Car parks in Coleraine took in the most revenue, with Abbey Street car park and The Mall both generating over £150,000 of revenue a year.

The figures also showed that off-street car parks in the Mid Ulster District Council area generated around £300,000 a year, nearly half of which was generated in the Rainey Street car park in Magherafelt.

Meanwhile, Mid Ulster Council are currently developing a new strategy for the 25 off-street car parks in the area. The findings of an evaluation of the car parks were presented to the Council’s Environment Committee on Tuesday.

Speaking after the meeting, Committee Chair, Cllr Clement Cuthbertson, said that “the development of an off-street parking strategy is an important piece of work which impacts on our town centres and regeneration work, and which has wider considerations in planning and environmental terms.”

“Gathering this baseline data is central to informing our future approach and a key part of our discussions with stakeholders and of our wider public consultation activity,” he said.

Mid Ulster Council expects to issue a draft strategy for consultation later this year.