Concerns over safety of Derry car park
A large section of Derry’s quayside area may be structurally unsafe.
A meeting of the Derry City and Strabane District Council has been told that the riverside car park may be of ‘questionable structural integrity’.
The car park is one of 14 off street car parks in Derry and Strabane that will come under the control of the new Derry and Strabane ‘super council’ when it comes into power in just over two weeks’ time on April 1.
The car parks were previously operated by the Department of Regional Development (DRD).
However, the new local council are to write to the Northern Ireland Executive advising that they will not be accepting the transfer of Queen’s Quay car park on April 1, as it would pose a ‘significant potential liability’ to the new council.
Speaking at a special meeting of the council, Alfie Dallas, the council’s Chief Finance Officer, said that the basis for the concerns was that the Queen’s Quay car park was ‘not built on solid ground’, but a ‘structure’
The Chief Executive of the council, John Kelpie, later revealed that the concerns stemmed from the fact that the car park was built on a ‘pier structure’ which was of ‘questionable structural integrity’.
Mr Dallas told the meeting: “In relation to the car parks on Queens Quay, our due diligence work and local knowledge suggests a significant potential liability to council should Queens Quay car park be transferred.
“There is an obvious inherent risk given the location of this car park and DRD officials have been requested to provide copies of any structural reports that have been produced showing the current or historical state of the quay, and any remedial works that have been carried out, planned or considered.”
Mr Dallas added that a letter to the Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy, advising that council will not be accepting the transfer of Queens Quay car park on April 1.
The Town Clerk John Kelpie added that when the shadow council first came into being following the May local government elections last year, council had carried a ‘due diligence’ survey of its own.
He added that council had asked central government to carry out the exercise, but they ‘didn’t undertake it’.
Mr Kelpie added council the covered the cost itself and had engineers look at the assets, during which he said the issue with Queens Quay was ‘flagged up’.
“There is disproportionate concern at Queens Quay,” he said.
“The structural integrity is of concern.”
Independent councillor Dee Quigley said that council should not be endorsing the transfer of Queens Quay car park, adding that to do so would be placing people ‘in danger’.
Legal advice was then sought from the City Solicitor Philip Kingston, who said that the transfer was being dealt with by the DRD, and they ‘had signed it off’.
“They decided what goes into it (the transfer) and we are left with it,” he told the meeting.
Cllr Quigley continued that council should not be ‘putting car park users’ health and safety at risk’.
However, Sinn Fein’s Elisha McCallion said that Cllr Quigley was being ‘silly’ and there was ‘nothing to say’ that the car park was ‘going to fall down on people’.
She added that if council were to take over Queens Quay car park, then a report was needed on its sustainability, and council should also seek indemnity for the new responsibility from the DRD.
Council agreed to write to the DRD informing Danny Kennedy that it will not accepting the Queens Quay car park until their concerns over the site were ‘satisfactorily’ addressed.
The Queens Quay car park has 66 spaces and generated at total of £41,137 over the 2013/14 period.