£250k Faughan Valley purchase

The move has been broadly welcomed by community leaders in the Waterside who have promised to assist the Council in bringing the pitches into use as soon as possible.

A spokesperson for Derry City Council told the Sentinel the playing fields finally came into Council ownership in March.

“The Council is currently reviewing the land with a view to include it in its current cutting and pitch allocation schedule. The lands are to be used for the recreational benefit for the entire community,” the spokesperson said.

DUP Alderman Drew Thompson - who has been pushing for the land’s acquisition for a number of years - said he welcomed the purchase with open arms and vowed to support Derry City Council in the development of its new sports asset.

He said: “I welcome the purchase. I’ve been one of the people pushing for the land to be acquired. Now it’s been purchased it’s up to the Council to put in the preparations in terms of getting a road, a pavilion and changing facilities in place and finding the necessary resource to do this.”

Alderman Thompson said Londonderry suffered a proportionately lower concentration of sports pitches compared to other cities of a similar size and that this move would help address the shortfall.

“I welcome this with open arms,” he said. “Because there has been a lack of provision in the city. Since I got wind that the land had been purchased I have spoken to the Council and asked them: what are their plans?”

He said the City Solicitor and officers from the Council’s Leisure Services section have been assessing what needs to be done to bring the pitches into use and that he looked forward to supporting them in that endeavour.

YMCA chief and Secretary of the Foyle UUP Association William Lamrock has also pushed for the utilisation of the land for recreational purposes.

“This is very welcome news to hear that progress has been made. It will, however, require a lot of issues to be addressed such as dog fouling and anti-social behaviour,” he said.

Mr Lamrock warned that health and safety issues surrounding fouling and safe access needed to be worked on.

“It is a problem at the moment. It is used as a dog toilet and there is motorbike use by young people. There are also problems with access,” he said.

But despite the cautionary note Mr Lamrock said he would fully support Derry City Council in addressing the problems and that he would provide input on how best to do so having overcome similar issues at the nearby YMCA playing fields.

“We believe there is a need to manage it so that it meets local expectations,” he said. “We will certainly support the Council in doing that.”

He added: “By and large, we have dealt with some of these issues at YMCA and have worked with the community in ensuring there is proper and safe sports use in place.”

Londonderry councillors had initially sought the transfer of the vacant land from WELB for a nominal fee but the education authority insisted on disposing of the pitches on the open market.

WELB argued that under Article 106(5) of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986 the WELB could not dispose of any land or premises gratuitously unless the approval of the Department is obtained.