Positivity permeating Castlederg since funding announcement

CASTLEDERG has reacted with great delight at news that the town is to receive £6.4million as part of the Levelling Up Fund, announced by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak during Wednesday’s Autumn Budget.

The money will go to Derg Active, an integrated project which seeks to promote economic and environmental stimulus as well as social, health and well-being within the town.

Various rejuvenation projects will benefit from the money, such as a public realm scheme in the Diamond, a new play facility enhancing the heritage site at Castle Park; an upgrade to event space at Castle Park; upgrades to the outdoor space at Castle Park; a refurb of Greenways connecting Castle Park and Castlederg town centre and the creation of two parklets including one in the Diamond in the town centre.

Since the funding boost was announced, positivity has permeated the town, with locals looking forward to seeing how the money will enhance the town.

One of those people is well-known businessman Charlie Hamilton. At the weekend, he welcomed the boost to the local economy.

“It has to be good,” Charlie said. “This cash injection will go a long way to creating short- and long-term employment, especially within the construction industry. Any renovations will surely go to local tradesmen, keeping them in the local area instead of forcing their hand to go further a field in search of work. The spread and the uplift this will bring is sure to be outstanding. I think it will be the beginning of something special for Castlederg. After all, money attracts money.

“Castlederg has been blighted for far too long, but the people are now starting to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

“Dergfest is a fabulous example of this, the festival is the first thing people think about now when Castlederg is mentioned.”

Charlie has a plan which he believes will benefit the town centre.

“Most of the shop facades, not just here but in surrounding areas, were two storey houses before their conversion into shop fronts,” he explained. “They need to be converted back to places for people to live. If you get people living back in your town, then your town gets back to life.

“It’s my firm belief that if someone produced a grant enticing people to convert old shops back to living spaces, more people will want to stay in the town, allowing it to improve dramatically.”

Other townsfolk were also happy at the news. Eamon McGarvey, former Sinn Fein councillor, and brother to former Tyrone footballer Ciaran, calls the money ‘long long overdue.’

However, Eamon hopes that the sports pitches won’t be the only areas to benefit, noting that a lot of tracts of land in Castlederg are in bad need of regeneration.

Another, although fairly recent resident, Newcastle-born Derek Smith added, “It’s lovely to see. Any money to improve the place is most definitely welcome.

“I’ve not seen a lot of change in the seven years I’ve lived here but any change brought about by the money will surely be welcome.”

Similarly, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Graham Warke outlined his delight at the news.

“I am absolutely delighted…” he said. “I want to congratulate everyone involved in bringing forward these project bids.

“This is a really positive good news story for our council area that will see a much-needed cash injection to bring to fruition these exciting initiatives.”