Donegal and Derry look to cross-border enterprise space
DONEGAL County Council is collaborating with Catalyst, formerly known as the Northern Ireland Science Park, to develop a potential cross-border enterprise space in Letterkenny and Derry.
The council issued a request for tender-seeking submissions to carry out an economic appraisal of the proposed project.
The cross-border enterprise space project would see the development of a 4,000 sqm building, known as the Beta building, in Letterkenny, and a similar size building at Fort George in Derry’s centre.
According to documents, Donegal County Council hopes the buildings will help create new employment opportunities by providing “state of the art workspace/enterprise facilities”.
It is expected the economic appraisal will investigate the need for each proposal element, including the Beta building and Fort George.
In a section regarding the project’s background, Donegal County Council wrote the region is positioning itself as an “attractive alternative location for investment and growth”. It added that Brexit had a significant impact on business confidence in the area, exacerbating its
“already low levels of international competitiveness and innovation”.
Donegal County Council added the development would contribute significantly to investment in Letterkenny and Derry City if successful. It said it would also help to stabilise employment opportunities “as we continue to evolve in a post-conflict/post-Covid society and region and identify the outcomes of the Brexit agreement”.
Tenders must be in on February 26 and the successful company carrying out the appraisal is to complete the commission by April 16.