Limavady seeks to double funding for ‘Masterplan’

The local council produced a ‘town centre masterplan’ at the beginning of this year aimed at sprucing up some of the dereliction and unsightly old buildings blighting the appearance of Limavady’s town centre.

A report presented to the Borough’s councillors in January, explained the aims of the masterplan: “Limavady Town Centre has suffered from dereliction over the past few years. This has manifested itself in vacant properties and gaps in the main streets, as well as some neglect for

the character of the town itself. Council, in conjunction with the Department for Social Development, has completed a town masterplanning exercise, and endorsed the subsequent document. The document notes: ‘Traditional shop frontages and designs should be utilised to retain the character of the town centre; ‘Replacement windows and/or doors should match the design of the original or where it is not known, a design typical of the original age of the building will suffice; ‘special consideration is required within the setting of listed buildings and/or the proposed Area of Townscape Character, where the conservation of the local historic fabric is an important component of the local setting’ ...and so forth.”

Ahead of a council meeting scheduled for last night, details of the ‘Revitalise Limavady’ masterplan were provided to councillors, as were the plans to apply for double the amount of funding: “Full applications will be sought from the businesses in: Linenhall Street – where the original scheme is to take place and; the upper part of Main Street – from the Arts Centre to the Court House.”