UUP's Carmichael says East Londonderry should be recognised as 'Capital of the North West'
Mr Robert Carmichael, the East Londonderry Ulster Unionist Party Association Chairman, said that the association is campaigning for the relocation of more of the major Northern Ireland Government Departments to East Londonderry.
Speaking on behalf of the UUP association, Mr Carmichael said: “East Londonderry should be given its rightful place and recognised as the Capital of the North West.
“Given the rich history and heritage which agriculture plays in the life of the East Londonderry community, the Stormont Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is already located at Ballykelly in our constituency.
“There would be no better way to recognise the importance of East Londonderry in the life of Northern Ireland than to relocate more of the major Government departments to the constituency. For example, with a population of around 24,500 Coleraine - according to the 2021 Census - has a bustling commercial centre and would provide an ideal workplace for civil servants.”
“We in the UUP are talking here about the Headquarters of a major another Stormont Department or Agency. This would make a substantial difference to the traders in the town centre, increasing their footfall business by a substantial amount.”
“We need more imagination applied to the development of East Londonderry’s towns than has been the case recently. That is why we in the East Londonderry UUP want it to be recognised as the Capital of the North West of the Province.
“We must carve out a niche and a role for East Londonderry’s towns and the concept of region as the capital of the North West really sums up the role of the towns.”
Mr Carmichael added: “A former UUP MLA, the late Sam Gardiner of Upper Bann, when he was our party’s spokesman on Local Government, received an assurance from the then NIO Minister Lord Rooker that the relocation of Government Departments was under active consideration.
“Likewise, the expected next British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is on record as saying he wants to devolve more powers to the regions. In Stormont’s case, this could be the relocation of more departments and agencies to the constituencies - and especially to East Londonderry.
“Many existing government departmental headquarters buildings could easily be sold off. Some of the buildings are so much in need of refurbishment and alteration to reach modern standards that it would be cheaper and wiser to dispose of them.
“We believe the arguments in favour of such a move are irresistible. More flexible systems buildings, more suited to today’s civil service needs, more adaptable to future use and possibly under the banner of a public-private partnership, with on-going running costs which are a fraction of our older office accommodation have got to be a better option,” said Mr Carmichael.