Public views sought on £45m Derry Central Riverfront Project

The public is being encouraged to have its say on the Derry’s Central Riverfront Project, as the emerging vision is brought back to the community following the first major engagement exercise earlier this year.

Derry City and Strabane District Council and lead partner Department for Infrastructure are hosting a second public engagement event which will take place in the Guildhall on Wednesday 11 November, with people invited to drop in at any time between 10am and 8pm to view the emerging vision and road options and share their views. The online consultation will also run over a four-week period from November 11 until December 11 2026.

The Derry Central Riverfront Project is a £45m transformative project for the heart of the city. It’s a cornerstone project of the wider investment strategy and key component of the Derry and Strabane Region City Deal, that will see over £300 million invested into the City and District. This scheme is designed to contribute to a more prosperous, sustainable, and regionally balanced economy by reimagining how the city connects with its most famous natural asset.

The Central Riverfront Project, funded through City Deal, aims to transform the area through changes to road layouts, safer and more attractive streets, improved walking and cycling routes, and new public spaces. It aims to re-imagine the riverfront area, with a focus on creating high-quality, safe, and welcoming public spaces, prioritising active travel like walking and cycling, and enhancing the city’s evening economy.

This latest engagement follows a very well attended Information Gathering Event held in February, when local communities and businesses were invited to help inform the development of the project. The response demonstrated significant support for the overall ambition, with 93% of respondents backing the project’s overall aims.

Importantly, that engagement was about listening at an early stage, and the feedback received has since been considered as options for the road layouts and public spaces have been developed further. The event on November 11 will give people the opportunity to see the resulting emerging vision, consider the options now being presented and provide further feedback before a preferred option is developed.

The emerging proposals focus on creating a more attractive, accessible and people-friendly riverfront, with greater emphasis on public space, walking, cycling and sustainable transport. Changes to the road network and parking provision are inevitably issues which directly affect residents, businesses and people travelling through the city, making continued public engagement an important part of developing the project.

While changes including reduced car parking need to be considered carefully, the wider objective is to balance how the city centre works for everyone, creating more space for people, improving the public realm and accessibility, supporting public transport and improving the experience for those travelling on foot or by bicycle.

Minister for Infrastructure, Liz Kimmins said: “The Central Riverfront project will be transformational in delivering a dynamic and re-invigorated urban waterfront area which will position Derry as a vibrant European destination and make this already wonderful city an even more attractive place to visit, live and work in.

The scheme will provide high-quality public realm and streetscape enhancements, alongside significant improvements to active travel provision. Roads will also be reconfigured to prioritise public transport, with bus-priority measures in both directions designed to improve reliability and journey times.

Following the positive engagement at the public consultation event held in February, we are pleased to provide a further opportunity for local communities, businesses and stakeholders to view the emerging vision for the Central Riverfront area and see how feedback received to date has helped shape the project.

We are keen to gather further views from those who know the area best. The feedback received through this engagement will help inform the development of a preferred option, which will be brought forward as the project continues to progress.”

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Grace Uí Niallais encouraging people to attend said: “The Central Riverfront represents a significant investment in the future of our city and it is important that local people are involved as the proposals develop. We had a very positive response to the first engagement earlier this year, with people giving us useful feedback and ideas about what they want to see from this important part of the city.

“That feedback was taken on board by the project team, who considered the issues raised and used that information as the options have developed. We now want people to come back, look at the emerging proposals and tell us what they think.”

She added: “These are not the final designs, and that is precisely why participation at this stage is so valuable. Changes to roads, parking, public transport, pedestrian access and public spaces affect people in very practical ways. Regular engagement gives the community a genuine opportunity to help shape the proposals as they progress. This investment has the potential to create a greener, more accessible and welcoming riverfront and city centre, and I would encourage as many people as possible to take part and help us get it right.”

The engagement event is the second of three planned public events. While the event held in February this year, focused on gathering information, the event on 11 November will present the emerging vision and road options and a further consultation is planned for 2027 to present the preferred option, ahead of a planning application towards the end of 2027.

The November event takes place at the Main Hall, Guildhall, Derry, on Wednesday, November 11, and is open to the public from 10am to 8pm. For those who cannot attend in person they are able to view the draft proposals and complete a questionnaire online, with the consultation remaining open until December 11 2026. https://consultationspace.com/centralriverfrontproject/

Following this engagement, feedback will be reviewed before the next stage of the project.