A project to replace Queen’s Quay on Derry’s River Foyle has been given approval to move into development, with design and assessment work to follow.
On 2 November, the Department for Infrastructure announced that Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins had approved the establishment of the project. The decision allows work on design, environmental assessment, planning and a business case for the waterfront structure.
It is not a decision to start building. There is no procurement or construction commitment at this stage, and any move towards delivery will depend on funding, approvals and statutory processes.
What is known about the cost
Early feasibility estimates put the potential value of the replacement project at between £36 million and £45 million. The range is subject to further design development and approvals. It is not a signed construction contract or a confirmed amount of funding.
In 2024, Derry City and Strabane District Council and the Department for Infrastructure were discussing replacement of the structure. The council’s position at the time was that those works would not form part of the City Deal-funded programme; monitoring of the site would continue while potential replacement options were reviewed.
A separate riverfront plan
The replacement is to be developed alongside the Central Riverfront Project, a separate partnership between the infrastructure department and the council. The aim is to coordinate work on the quay with the wider plans for the city’s waterfront.
The Central Riverfront Project is a £45 million scheme due to be funded through the Derry and Strabane Region City Deal. It covers proposed changes to road layouts, streets, walking and cycling routes and public spaces. Its figure should not be treated as confirmed funding for the separate quay replacement.
In 2024, an earlier council proposal outlined a possible one-way layout, with northbound traffic on Strand Road and southbound traffic on Queen’s Quay. That was a proposal, not a final traffic arrangement. The project partners are developing options for road layouts and public spaces.
The two projects have related ambitions. The replacement work is intended to support riverfront regeneration and offer opportunities for better connections, active travel and flood resilience. Those are objectives for development, not a guarantee that a particular design or improvement has been approved.
How people can have a say
The Central Riverfront partners are holding a public engagement event at the Guildhall in Derry on Wednesday 11 November 2026, with a drop-in session from 10am to 8pm. People will be able to view an emerging vision for the wider riverfront and offer feedback.
An online consultation on that vision is scheduled to run from 11 November to 11 December 2026. The consultation is for the Central Riverfront Project; it should not be confused with a final design or an approval process already completed for the separate quay replacement.
The partners held an earlier information-gathering event in February 2026 to hear from communities and businesses. Their current work on options follows that engagement. The project team plans a further consultation on a preferred option in spring 2027 and intends to submit a planning application in autumn 2027.
Those dates relate to the Central Riverfront Project, not a construction timetable for Queen’s Quay. No start date, final design or construction budget was set out in the decision to establish the replacement project. The immediate step is to develop and assess the project before decisions on whether and how it can be delivered.
