River Foyle strategy & urban plan

Challenge

This project involves the development of a broad strategy for over 25km of waterfront along the banks of the River Foyle as it runs through Derry~Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The project is highly varied and looks at setting up design and planning information for the formation of Supplementary Planning Guidance for the whole river corridor which runs through historic urban areas, rural countryside and industrialised port land.

Solution

The proposals in this strategy, as they run through the urban areas, are further developed as a masterplan exercise to explore how the urban elements of the city can re-engage with the waterfront. This identifies urban design principles for developing over 500,000sqm along the water front as well as identifying key sites for catalyst regeneration. One of the key catalyst projects identified in the strategy was the implementation of an urban design master plan for Ebrington Barracks which front onto the River. This included proposals for the former Parade Ground which was designed and delivered by OPEN (now part of SLR) as a key piece of public realm and has become a unique destination square within this new cultural quarter of the City.

Impact

The Strategic Riverside Masterplan had three principal purposes:

• To secure a spatial strategy for the river corridor in the wider study area while identifying opportunities for bringing communities together.
• To stimulate leisure, recreation and tourism opportunities creating employment whilst preserving and enhancing the environmental value of the river asset.
• To secure a detailed framework to guide development along the urban waterfront between the Foyle and Craigavon Bridges setting standards that will help regenerate the city.

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