Ritchie confirms rapid progress on £115million Coleraine developments

Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has confirmed that her Department is making rapid progress on two proposed development schemes in Coleraine town centre.

The Minister said: “In October last year, I launched a public consultation on the proposed development schemes for the Abbey Street and Mall car park sites in Coleraine town centre. The response to that consultation was very positive and we have been able to build on that support to make rapid progress towards the delivery of the two schemes.

“One of the key issues relating to these sites was the order in which they would be developed. After very carefully considering all the factors, I have decided that it would be in the best interests of Coleraine to develop the Lanes scheme on Abbey Street site first. This will allow us to deliver a major boost to the number of parking spaces in the town centre at an early date."

The Minister’s decision means that, subject to planning, work may start on the Abbey Street car park in August 2008. The construction work is expected to take 12 months to complete and it is estimated that the new multi-storey car park, with over 500 spaces, will open on the site in August 2009.

Work on the Ramparts scheme on the Mall car park will start when the multi-storey car park on Abbey Street opens to the public. Therefore, the current estimated start date is September 2009. The Ramparts is the largest single development ever planned for Coleraine town centre and it is expected to take two years to complete. The new shops in the scheme should be open for business before Christmas 2011.

Referring to the consultation process, the Minister noted: “There is some concern locally that the two developments will generate traffic congestion in and around Coleraine town centre. To establish what impact the schemes will have and what might be done to resolve any problems, my Department is funding a traffic study. This will be completed during May and the results will be fed into the planning process.”

A detailed report of the consultation exercise is available on the DSD website.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Abbey Street car park is a 0.57ha (1.4 acre) site situated to the south of The Diamond in Coleraine town centre and close to the Diamond Shopping Centre and the prime retail area of Church Street. The car park currently provides 185 short stay car parking spaces for visitors to the town centre and is accessed via Abbey Street.
2. The scheme proposed for the Abbey Street car park is called “The Lanes”. It has been drawn up by Abby Street Developments Ltd, a company led by the family which owns the Moores of Coleraine department store. The proposed scheme would deliver 30,000 ft2 of retail space, eight townhouses, approximately 500 parking spaces and three new public spaces.
3. The Mall Car Park is a 0.61ha (1.5 acres) site situated to the north of The Diamond in Coleraine town centre and is linked to The Diamond through the Diamond Arcade and to Church Street along Bell House Lane and Park Street. The car park currently provides 218 short stay car parking spaces for visitors to the town centre.
4. The scheme proposed for the Mall car park is called “the Ramparts”. It has been drawn up by Fermac Properties Ltd, a Londonderry based development company. The proposed scheme would deliver 190,000 ft2 of retail space, 103 apartments, 7,000 ft2 of office space and approximately 900 parking spaces.
5. 221 written responses were received by the Department during the consultation. 98 of these related to the Lanes scheme and 113 related to the Ramparts scheme. Of the responses relating to the Lanes scheme, 63% were generally positive, 18% were generally negative and 18% were neutral. Of the responses relating to the Ramparts scheme, 89% were generally positive, 3% were generally negative and 8% were neutral.
6. A report of the consultation results is available on the DSD website. The report detailed the comments made in the written submissions and the Department’s response to those comments.
7. Subject to the granting of planning permission, it is estimated that work will begin on the Lanes scheme by the end of August 2008. The construction work is expected to last 12 months, during which time alternative parking provision will be provided at the Harbour estate.
8. To avoid excessive and damaging disruption to parking in Coleraine town centre, work will start on the Ramparts scheme after the parking floors on the Lanes scheme open to the public. It is estimated that work will start on the Ramparts scheme in September 2009. The scheme will take two years to complete and the developers hope that it will open for trading in the run up to Christmas 2011.
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