Major funding secured to restore historic Culmore Fort

Culmore Community Partnership has secured a major funding boost of £265,000 to restore Culmore Fort, a successful outcome to over three years of planning, community engagement and hard work.

The work on this listed building has started and will be completed by the end of March 2025.  

Neil Doherty MBE, Chair of Culmore Community Partnership (CCP) said: “Many thanks to our very generous funders. These include the Village Catalyst grant scheme, a partnership initiative between the Department for Communities (DfC), the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), the Department for Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE).

"We have also received funding from The Honourable The Irish Society, Garfield Weston Foundation and the Pilgrim Trust. Without their support we could not realise our ambitious plans to provide much needed community space for the people of Culmore.

“The Fort at Culmore was held by the Crown until it was sold off with its lands to the Honourable The Irish Society in 1840 and the Society still own the old Fort today. For the past 50 years the Fort has been leased by Lough Foyle Yacht Club.  CCP has now taken over the lease to allow the building to be restored and made available for community use.

"We would like to thank the Yacht Club for their support during the development phase of this project and we look forward to continuing our partnership working as we move forward.”

Una Cooper, Strategic Manager, CCP stated: “The restored Fort will be primarily used to provide much needed mental and emotional support for children and young people living in Culmore.  We will also host support programmes for adults and cultural and heritage events.  In a rural area with few amenities and services, the restoration of the Fort will create much needed community space.”

Duane Farrell, Secretary & Chief Executive commented: “The Honourable The Irish Society is delighted to see the Fort being restored and, as importantly, being brought back into community use in a way that meets community needs. Culmore Fort is an iconic building with a long history and we look forward to seeing the building being used by the community in a way that it hasn’t been for many years. Thanks to the hard work of Culmore Community Partnership together with the local community, this historic building will continue to have an important role to play in the local area for years to come.”

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons welcomed the construction phase and added: “This project will provide a vital community resource for Culmore and surrounding areas.  We are seeing more and more communities applying to Village Catalyst and I am pleased that my Department is able to support projects where at-risk heritage properties are being revitalised and restored for the benefit of the local community.

"We have seen a range of properties conserved and modernised  through Village Catalyst, delivering greater economic sustainability and positive social outcomes for local people and businesses.  I very much look forward to visiting the finished project.”

DAERA Minister Andrew Muir commented: “Culmore Fort was identified for support through the Village Catalyst Programme, part-funded through my Department’s Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRSPI) Programme. The Programme tackles rural poverty and social isolation by refurbishing neglected community owned historic buildings for locally identified uses which provide access to services and address core community needs.

"The provision of a multi-functional community facility in the Culmore area is a significant development and I’m delighted that this project will help support the local rural community for many years to come.”

READ NEXT: Did Ireland have an Empire? Renowned historian explores England's oldest colony

Matthew McKeague, Chief Executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund, confirmed “Culmore Fort is a fabulous example of the potential of a Village Catalyst scheme: regenerating a redundant historic asset to serve the needs of the local community. In this case, the needs of young people living in and around Culmore who will have the opportunity to access a range of activities and services, in a beautifully restored and unique part of the village's history.

"We were delighted to help Culmore Community Partnership test and develop their ideas and help bring this inspirational project to fruition.”