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Upbeat in Derry

The city differentiates itself on quality of life, and on the fact that it is young and vibrant. “We don’t want to be another Belfast,” says Janice Tracey. Janice heads up the city’s Chamber of Commerce and says that, despite the economic downturn, the city is confident and upbeat about the future. “What Derry has to offer to the business investor, tourist, shopper, student, or relocating workforce, is an alternative cosmopolitan lifestyle – something different to what they can get in Belfast or Dublin.” Janice paints the picture of the region firstly with the numbers and then adding the colour to give us the real depth to Derry. A regional hub The largest centre of urban population outside the greater Belfast area, and the fourth largest city on the island of Ireland, the city plays a much wider role within the northwest of Ireland; its “travel-to-work” area and its “travel-to-shop” area includes the neighbouring districts of Strabane, Limavady and parts of Donegal. The population of Derry’s hinterland is 427,000. This is the largest sub-regional labour pool on the island, after Dublin and Belfast. More importantly, though, this is a young city, with 43 per cent of the population under 30, and just under 30 per cent under 16. The northwest region benefits from having 6000 school leavers and over 4600 graduates per year. The city is the regional hub for education, healthcare and public administration with a university and further education campuses, regional hospital, and offices of regional government. The significant higher and further education resource is stimulating economic growth in knowledge-based industries, improving skills levels, and is instrumental in attracting inward investment. A well-connected region In terms of connectivity, the northwest is the first region in Europe to achieve 100 per cent broadband coverage and Derry offers free broadband browsing to tourists and visitors in its historic core. The regional airport for the northwest of Ireland is in Derry. It provides scheduled services directly to Dublin, Glasgow, London, Bristol and Liverpool and services a wide range of holiday destinations during summer months culminating in over 350,000 passengers annually. With immediate plans to upgrade the road infrastructure to the two other capital cities on the island, all in all Derry is a pretty well-connected place. Dynamic business growth It is no wonder, then, that this city is the base for a growing number of dynamic, indigenous SMEs and international firms. Award-winning companies such as Singularity, Pakflatt, Opt2Vote, working on leading- edge technologies, are globally recognised for their expertise and commitment to quality. The city boasts the highest number of US investors in Northern Ireland. Dupont has been established in Derry for over 40 years, while, more recently, large multi-nationals such as Seagate, HML, Stream International, Northbrook (now Allstate), Raytheon, AXA, Fujitsu have located in the city. People and place are what investors tell us really matter most and what puts Derry at the top of their list. A principal retail centre The cross-border location of the province’s second city is also an attractor to retail business. Derry is the principal retail centre in the northwest of Ireland and the retail capacity of the city has been boosted in recent years by the doubling of retail floor space. Locally based independent retailers, accounting for some 68 per cent of the retailing sector, significantly complement an expanding range of both UK and Irish major high-street stores. Derry’s cultural diversity, in part, explains its reputation as a hotbed of creative activity. The city hosts numerous theatres, museums and galleries offering the visitor a choice of creative and artistic activities. A positive future And how can we not be upbeat and confident when we hear the plans the city’s fathers have. Over the next couple of years we will have a newly developed city centre with an attractive shared public space; a revitalised tourism product and brand based on the city’s walls; culture and heritage; an iconic footbridge expanding the current city centre to include a 26 acre mixed-use development on the east riverfront, and what has been hailed as Derry’s own mini Manhattan on the 16 acre former army barracks. All this backed up by a dogged perseverance on the part of the business community, helped of course by its thriving chamber, to weather the storm of economic gloom and doom.

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Confident and upbeat in Derry

by Janice Tracey, chief executive, Londonderry Chamber of Commerce

Three months is a long time in both economics – and in politics.

by Bro McFerran CBE, president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce...read more

The official magazine of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce

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