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THE business case for the multi-million pounds Derry City and Strabane District city deal is set to be approved today resulting in a major investment for Strabane.
Through the major deal, funding of £250m will be invested in the Derry City and Strabane District Council over the next 15 years with hopes of creating 7,000 jobs.
The UK and Stormont governments have each committed funding of £105m for the deal, and another £40m is being provided by Derry City and Strabane District Council and private partners.
Ten major projects are proposed within the deal with a focus on health and life sciences and digital industries, including a centre for industrial digitisation, robotics and automation and the establishment of a cognitive analytics research laboratory.
In Strabane, the funding will be used to carry out the Strabane town centre Regeneration project. This project aims to transform and regenerate the Strabane Canal Basin site to create a leisure centre, health hub, higher and further education campus, an innovation centre and civic building with incubation units and a pedestrian footpath that will link all these key services to Strabane town centre. In addition to regenerating this former commercial site, the project will also see the total revitalisation of Strabane town centre with the creation of enhanced public realm infrastructure.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis is to approve the business case for the multi-million pounds Derry City and Strabane District city deal today, and Mr Lewis and Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy are due to sign the deal’s heads of terms.
It marks “a major milestone” towards the deal’s completion, said First Minister Arlene Foster.
Welcoming the Signing of the Heads of Terms, the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Brian Tierney, said it marked a significant step in the City Deal journey with a commitment from the UK and NI Governments to work collaboratively with partners in the business and academic sectors to deliver a City Deal that will bring about a transformative boost to the region’s economy.
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