By 
DERRY City and Strabane District Council has received plans for five shepherds huts, to be used as tourist accommodation at a Castlederg farm.
The planning application was recently submitted to council’s planning portal and seeks permission for the huts, as well as an amenity hut, associated landscaping and recreation space, as part of the Farm Diversification Scheme, on lands close to 27 McCreerys Road in the town.
An accompanying Planning Statement said the development site occupies “lower-value agricultural ground” on the eastern bank of an unnamed minor watercourse.
“All works remain on the same eastern bank and outside the mapped extents,” the Statement said. “No stream crossing is proposed.
“The site sits slightly below McCreerys Road so the huts read low in the landscape rather than on a skyline.
“Hedgerows to the road and along field boundaries give good containment while still allowing framed outward views from doorways and seating areas.
“The amenity hut provides a warm, flexible indoor space, it is deliberately modest so activity remains intimate and resident-only.
“It enables wet‑weather fall back and occasional curated sessions for resident guests only, such as craft hour, heritage talk, board‑game evening, kids’ movie hour or a morning yoga/stretch class.
“The architectural language is intentionally modest: single-storey, low-profile huts in a muted palette; no suburban kerbs, wing-walls or close-boarded fencing.
“The site is well placed for short-break stays serving the Sperrins, Castlederg, Omagh/Ulster American Folk Park, Derry/Londonderry and north Donegal.
“The composition achieves a landscape‑led, small‑scale solution that protects amenity and rural character while supporting the farm through diversification.”
