1.4 acres ‘£550k’ NI Water depot sold

Staff at the old water service depot at the corner of Irish Street and Belt Road have been relocated to the nearby Gelvin Grange depot to facilitate the cost-saving move.

Finance Minister Sammy Wilson recently revealed the sale in response to an Assembly Question stating that the Department of Finance and Personnel (DfP) has “had an offer accepted on 1A Belt Road, Londonderry.”

NI Water’s existing lease on the property of £125k per year expired on Saturday, March 31.

In a promotional brochure Estate Agency O’Connor Kennedy and Turtle said the civil service were open to offers of around £550,000 for an “assumed freehold or long leasehold subject to nominal peppercorn rent.”

The firm billed the land as a “high profile redevelopment site incorporating headquarter style offices, storage and car parking with short term investment income.

It stated: “Strategic location opposite one of the Province’s leading regional hospitals ‘Altnagelvin’, just off the main A6 Glenshane Road, which is the main provincial intercity route, under two miles from Derry City Centre.

“Suggested alternative uses for the site, subject to Planning Permission - Social Housing/Nursing Home Care/Retail etc. Adjacent to major food and non-food retailing complexes, as such a possible extension to this type of inner city facility.”

A spokeswoman for NI Water stated: “The Altnagelvin site is owned and managed by the Department of Finance and Personnel. NI Water lease the property and will continue to do so until 2013 when the lease runs out.

“In 2013, NI Water staff will move to the nearby Gelvin Grange site which it owns. This will help NI Water continue to make efficiency savings without impacting on service provision in the area.

“Customers in the area will not be affected by this move and the level and quality of service which is currently provided, will be maintained throughout the moving process.”