Sports hall in Castlederg closed for months due to ‘significant’ oil spill

DERRY City and Strabane council has been criticised for “unacceptable” delays in reopening Castlederg leisure centre’s sports hall after a “significant” oil leak at the site.

Users of Derg Valley Leisure Centre have been left without access to the main sports hall for more than five months following the discovery of the spill in the spring due to ongoing investigations.

Derg councillor, Ruairi McHugh, told the Ulster Herald, “We have been told that it is to do with the oil heating from the tank and there was a leak somewhere under the ground so reparatory work needs to be carried out to fix it.”

The Sinn Fein councillor added, “We had a report on it to one of the committees, and there will be a significant amount of work needed to remedy the situation.”

FRUSTRATION

SDLP Derg councillor, Steven Edwards, expressed frustration at the time taken to reopen the facility.

“It is unacceptable that some facilities at Derg Valley Leisure Centre have been closed for so long following an oil leak,” he said.

“Councillors were first informed of this months ago, and I was led to believe it would be dealt with swiftly. Yet here we are, months later, with seemingly little progress being made.”

Cllr McHugh described the length of closure of the sports hall as “unfortunate”.

Cllr Edwards added, “The Derg Valley Leisure Centre serves the wider Castlederg area and there isn’t any other council facilities nearby.

“It’s vitally important that work is progressed and I’ve stressed this to council officers.”

In response, a Derry City and Strabane council spokesperson said, “Exploratory tests are still being carried out following an oil spillage at the site – the tests will determine the levels of contamination and the results are expected back in the coming weeks.

“The sports hall at the centre is currently closed to allow testing to progress.”

The council did not answer how much the remediation works at the centre are projected to cost ratepayers.