Leading private and social house builder, The Braidwater Group, has today announced plans for a hugely significant £450m investment in a mixed-use development on a 100 hectare (c.250 acres) site in Derry-Londonderry, which is to be known as The Cashel.
The site, which is located at lands west of Buncrana Road between Whitehouse Road and Benview Estate in Coshquin, is expected to deliver over 3,000 new social, affordable, and private homes, and create a new urban village. This project represents one of the most significant investments in the north-west in recent years adding a net increase in the number of households in the city by around 8% over the life of the project.
Sustainability will be key to the project with a high street and central park at the heart of the scheme providing a hub for new residents. The plans will also deliver new community buildings, schools, retail and convenience facilities within the development. With the ‘North-West Greenway’ passing near the proposed site, linking Derry-Londonderry with Buncrana, there will be cycle routes incorporated into the plans to help provide a safe space for cyclists. The development will also aim to be carbon neutral and to help facilitate this there will be extensive tree planting and biodiversity measures as part of the project.
Phase 1 will see an initial investment of over £100m to deliver a mix of 800 social, private and affordable houses, with major infrastructure also to be put in place for the wider site. At any one time approximately 250 construction jobs and apprenticeships will be created, with the economic impact set to positively benefit suppliers in the area.
The consultation process for the urban village will begin in the weeks ahead, with detailed plans to be submitted to Derry City and Strabane District Council before the end of 2020.
Located in Eglinton and with operations throughout Northern Ireland, The Braidwater Group has over 40 years’ experience in the industry and is one of Northern Ireland’s leading house builders.
See our drone video of the Cashel site:
Vincent Bradley, development director of The Braidwater Group, said:
“We are excited to announce our plans for the largest housing development to be built in Northern Ireland in the last 10 years. This will bring a significant economic impact to the North West. The fact that this will represent an extension to our home city of Derry and that it will address an area of high housing demand makes us even more ambitious to deliver it.
“As with all of our projects, we are bringing forward plans which encourage people who live on the site to live well, with all aspects of lifestyle catered for in a high quality and well thought out way. The development will be a new, well connected community, and we will be making a contribution of £1.5m to build in public transport linkages. We will also be contributing over £7m into the wider roads network and realigning the Coshquin and Whitehouse Road in a sensitive way.”
He added: “This year has been extremely challenging for the construction sector, and it is important that we continue to drive momentum with key projects in the pipeline, such as The Cashel. At this time, it is crucial to try and keep the economy moving forward. We will reveal further details about our planning consultation process in the weeks to come and we look forward to welcoming feedback from interested parties.”
Pictured at Skeoge roundabout with the H2 lands in the background are (L-r): Patrick McGinnis, Chief Executive Officer, Braidwater, Joe McGinnis, Managing Director, Braidwater, Vincent Bradley, Development Director, Braidwater, Cllr Brian Tierney, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Dermot Mullan, Finance Director, Braidwater.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Brian Tierney welcoming news of the planned investment for the area said:
“This is excellent news for the city and district and a significant financial investment and commitment by a local company. As a Council, we set out very clearly in our Strategic Growth Plan and our draft Local Development Plan, how we will be proactively encouraging private investment and growth across our region. The Council recognises the need for quality mixed-use housing with supporting community facilities within the district and the need for significant investment to make the Derry City and Strabane District Council area an attractive place to live, work and study.”
This application is currently at the pre-application community consultation stage and will be subject to normal planning approvals by Council.