Public meeting held to discuss Rosemount Factory 100-bed student accommodation proposal

More than 100 residents from the Rosemount area of the city attended a public meeting in Brooke Park Leisure Centre organised by Derry City and Strabane District councillor Shaun Harkin (People Before Profit).

The meeting, held to discuss the 100 student accommodation units proposed for Rosemount Factory, took place on Tuesday evening. 

The plan for the student accommodation forms part of the overall redevelopment of the Factory brought forward by Glen Development Initiative, The Village Hub and Ballymagroarty Hazelbank Community Partnership, and Foyleside Developments.

During the meeting speakers raised concerns about what they described as the lack of consultation around the proposal; traffic congestion; and public money totalling £1.5 million being paid to a private developer to purchase the Factory. 

Those at the meeting also voiced opposition to 100 student accommodation units being included in the plans for the Factory and urged developers, Ulster University and the Magee Expansion Taskforce to consider non-residential areas such as the Fort George site in the Pennyburn area of the city. 

Speaking to The Derry News, Cllr Harkin (People Before Profit) said he was “really delighted with the turnout.”

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“There were over 100 people here on a cold and wet night. I think it shows you the degree of concern and passion that is coming from the Rosemount Community about the future of the Rosemount Factory,” he added.

“I think you heard tonight very clearly about what people think about some of the proposals that are coming forward to Council, particularly around the proposal to turn the Factory into large-scale student accommodation.

“This is not about the residents around here being anti student or anti Magee expansion. This is about people protecting a residential area. And, I think people can understand now what’s at stake.

“The people who were at this meeting tonight have very clear ideas about what could go into the Factory. They don’t feel like they have been properly consulted or listened to and they will be watching now what happens next at the Council.”

Public Meeting on 100 Student Accomodation units proposed for Rosemount Factory - Derry News (@DerryNow) digital report.

More than 100 residents from the Rosemount area of the city attended a public meeting in Brooke Park Leisure Centre organised by Derry City and Strabane… pic.twitter.com/mwns3jqezD

— Catherine McGinty (@CathMcGin_Tea) March 25, 2026

Cllr Shauna Cusack (Independent) described the meeting as “very interesting and very passionate”.

“The feeling in the room was very much of a community that wanted their voice heard and felt they weren’t being listened to, that they weren’t consulted,” she said.

“Everybody in the area wants to retain their community, wants it to be a family area, wants it to be somewhere where they can have their children grow up, their grand kids grow up, enjoy the amenities that they have worked really hard for,” added Cllr Cusack.

“They feel that’s being taken away in essence and their voices are being taken away and they really want that to be heard, especially with all the problems of putting these types of accommodation into a central community, an established community, could cause. Issues such as parking, anti-social behaviour, emergency services’ access, bins services, oil services, all the small things that are maybe not being thought about in the bigger picture.

“They love Rosemount Factory. They love the potential it has. They love the history of it. But, they don’t think it is going down the right avenue.” 

Cllr Brian Tierney, leader of the SDLP bloc on Council, told The Derry News said he thought the public meeting was “very interesting”.

“The packed room was full of local residents who made their views on the plans for Rosemount Factory very, very clear, and they have definitely given councillors food for thought before we go into the full Council meeting later on in the month,” added Cllr Tierney.

“I think it was very interesting, very useful and certainly for us, who were the party who actually proposed that we have a pause to allow us to speak to the residents and to communities, I think it was very beneficial,” said Cllr Tierney.

Asked if he could give an indication how the SDLP in Council might vote on the 100 student accommodation units, he said: “I am part of a group and there were a few members of our group here. I will take my feedback back to the wider party and we will have a discussion and we will decide that then. I don’t think the media is the place for me to be making decisions on behalf of the group,” said Cllr Tierney.

Cllr Gary Donnelly (Independent) said there was a “serious disconnect from the people behind this proposal and the local community”.

“They don’t speak for the local community and there is a serious question mark about the process that they used in the consultation. I think there was a lot of anger and dismay in the room,” said Cllr Donnelly.

Mary Gallagher, a member of CRAM, said the campaign’s takeaway from the public meeting was that it was “really brilliant to see people coming out who are really engaged in the issue”.

She added: “CRAM have been campaigning for the last year and a half against Rosemount being more saturated than it already is with HMO and student accommodation.

“We really believe that the plan to put 100 students in is condemning Rosemount to more ghettoisation. This is going to lead to more families being moved out. 

“The issue in particular for us, I think as well, is the lack of consultation. So many people we have met did not know anything about the plans and we really feel that while people might have been asked for ideas, when the plans were developed to put 100 students into Rosemount Factory, the residents weren’t told. 

“They weren’t allowed to have any engagement at that stage.”