Culmore Hall to benefit from £250,000 revamp

by Gráinne Connolly

The Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has allocated £250,000 for the refurbishment of Victoria Hall in the Culmore area of Derry-Londonderry. 

It's understood the money is on top of funding pledged by The Honourable The Irish Society. 

The news has been welcomed by local Councillor Sandra Duffy, who says the hall could provide much needed services for the local community: 

“In recent months the Culmore Community Partnership (CCP) has been developing a proposal for the refurbishment of the vacant Victoria Hall in Culmore.

"A concerted effort has been made to secure the necessary funding to bring the hall back into use as a meaningful community hub which would seek to provide much needed services in an area that has historically been lacking in facilities and amenities.

“Sinn Féin has given broad support to this and other initiatives in the Greater Culmore area and, therefore, I am very pleased to welcome the decision by DAERA to award Culmore Community Partnership £250k towards the refurbishment initiative.

“This decision, coming after a significant match funding contribution from the owners of the hall, the Honourable the Irish Society, is a statement of confidence and support for the work of CCP.

“I am aware that much more needs to be done in terms of wider provision within Culmore but I am absolutely delighted that this important building block has now been put in place which will enable CCP to proceed with their wider vision for the area.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for DAERA said: 

“This will create a facility to provide a community hub in the area to deliver a range of services."