Planners approve major new Derry leisure facility

Planners have given the green light to a major new leisure facility in Derry.

The project will involve the construction of a floodlight football pitch and children’s play area at the site of the former Faughan Valley High School (pictured) at Drumahoe in the Waterside area of the city.

The large site has been unused since the school closed in 2004.

Faughan Valley High School was amalgamated with Clondermott High School to create Lisneal College at a new state-of-the-art school at Crescent Link.

Residents in Drumahoe have complained for a number of years about the lack of leisure amenities in the area.

That now looks set to change after planners recommended the approval of the proposal to build the football pitch and kids park at the Faughan Valley site.

The development, which will be called Drumahoe District Park, will also include a changing pavilion, a large car park and landscaped areas.

The entire development will be surrounded by a fence.

Plans for the facility were first submitted to the Department of the Environment (DoE) by the former Derry City Council in December 2013.

Derry City Council was replaced earlier this year by the new Derry City and Strabane District Council as part of the Review of Public Administration.

Under the previous local government system, the final decision on planning applications rested with the DoE’s Planning Service.

However, with the new structure, planning officials make a recommendation on an application, but the final decision on whether or not to grant planning permission is the responsibility of local councillors.

In relation to the leisure facility at the Faughan Valley site, planning officials have recommended that it be approved.

A final decision on the application is expected to be made by local councillors at a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s planning committee this week.

However, given that the original planning application was submitted by Derry City Council, it seems likely that planning permission for the new development will be granted. There is no indication, as yet, on how much the new facility will cost.