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Row over rail hub development in Derry

The old station was identified as the preferred site for the £26m transport hub after a public consultation
The old station was identified as the preferred site for the £26m transport hub after a public consultation The old station was identified as the preferred site for the £26m transport hub after a public consultation

A ROW has broken out over plans for a major refurbishment at Waterside railway station in Derry.

Translink's £26m plans would see the development of a regional transport hub on the site of the old station.

However transport lobby group Into The West is petitioning Derry City and Strabane District Council to reject the plans.

Group campaigner Eamonn McCann described the plans as "a laughing stock".

He said the station would effectively be unused under the proposals with trains parking outside the old station and the building separated from the Foyle riverfront by two railway lines and a car park.

Mr McCann, whose group has prepared alternative plans, said rejecting the current proposals did not threaten the project's funding.

It includes plans for park-and-ride facilities and improved public transport to the city centre.

The plans also see the current station demolished and the creation of a greenway link to the city centre via the Peace Bridge.

However the plans have the backing of Derry Chamber of Commerce. Jennifer McKeever said the transport hub will be a "great asset to the city and region".

"We believe the proposal in its current form is 100 per cent right for the city. We can visualise and realise our hub aspiration for the city, that will connect the Wild Atlantic Way with the Causeway Coastal route.

"The project will provide our city with a gateway of which we can be very proud," she added.

Derry City and Strabane District Council's planning department - which will have the final say on the station's redevelopment - is due to meet tomorrow to discuss the project.