Environment Minister Mark H Durkan.
ENVIRONMENT Minister Mark H Durkan is proposing six new listed buildings for Derry.
These include three former World War Two hangars beside the City of Derry Airport.
A row of three terraced buildings in a prominent location on the Northland Road is also being proposed for listing.
Mark H Durkan, who is consulting with Derry City and Strabane District Council on the listings, said: “These proposed listings will be a boost for the region, reflecting Derry City’s varied and diverse history.
“Much work has been carried out in recent years to highlight the area’s important role in World War Two. This rare collection of airfield hangars are in good condition and listing them will preserve a key slice of our history. It also reminds everyone just how much there is to see in Derry from this important period.
“The other proposal to protect three buildings on the Northland Road will safeguard a group of structures with good external detail at a key point in the Magee Conservation Area.
“Listing these will ensure these important assets are preserved and protected as part of the City and region’s rich tapestry. They will also further enhance the marketing of the council area as a great place to work, visit and invest.
“This brings the total number of buildings offered the protection of listing within the Derry and Strabane area to 655. My Department and I continue to be committed to ensuring that our environment is recognised and utilised to its full potential to deliver a better environment and a stronger economy.”
The three hangars proposed for listing are located on Airfield Road and Lower Airfield Road.
They were manufactured by Dorman Long and built for Eglinton Airfield (now City of Derry Airport) which opened as an RAF base in 1941.
It was of strategic importance to the UK during WWII as one of the most westerly bases for aircraft supporting convoys on the North Atlantic route.
They are good examples of ‘blister-type’ hangars (now relatively rare in the North of Ireland) and as pre-fabricated structures, they have survived well beyond their anticipated lifetime.
The three houses proposed for listing are No56, No58 and No60 Northland Road; a terrace of three-storey Italianate style town-houses built in 1869 and designed by John Guy Ferguson, a prominent architect of the time.
The consultation and listings result from the DOE Historic Environment Division’s Second Survey of the former Derry City Council Area. The former Strabane District Council Area was reviewed in 2011.
This has seen surveyors examining and researching the built heritage of Derry from June 2014.
The consultation submitted to the Council is one of a number with further engagement planned over the coming months.
The total number of listed buildings within the former Derry City Council Area is almost 500.
Not all of these have yet been surveyed and re-evaluated by DOE Historic Environment Division.
The total number of listed buildings within the new council area is 649; (481 in Derry and 168 in Strabane).
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