Regeneration Plan

The Londonderry Chamber of Commerce and its members have played a key role in the regeneration planning process. Derry's regeneration plan is the result of much hard work over the last 18 months put in by an enormous number of people, from across the business and voluntary sectors. If for no other reason, the results of the process deserve respect because of that work. But the plan itself is also essential for the future of Derry and if it is all agreed and implemented our city would be truly transformed.

For the first time, citizens from this city have been able to debate the issues affecting our region - often passionately and aggressively. But the result is a plan that brings together the best ideas from this city - in a process that is more democratic and inclusive than anything that has happened previously.

This is not the end of the process. While a large number of people were able to engage in the debate, many in the wider population have not yet done so. That wider engagement is essential: we need to get this plan right as this is a chance for all of us to create a better future for the city and the region.

Derry wants to play its part in delivering a region that is economically viable - we want to become a net contributor to the economy. We want our business community to be vibrant and confident. We want people to have jobs and we want an affluent population, where not having a job and not having enough money is the rare exception, not the all the common rule. We want to drive transformational change.

Derry has won something remarkable by becoming City of Culture 2013. This is an asset that needs to be exploited and marketed for all its worth. The designation will lead to the accelerated growth of tourism and the cultural economy. But we also need government to allow the University of Ulster at Magee to expand substantially. The fast tracking of investment and implementation of an integrated transport strategy would strengthen the role of the city as a regional hub: this requires the development of the port and the airport, as well as the dualling of the A5 and A6.

The business community is already seizing the moment with the digital economy. This week, the Chamber, in partnership with Derry City Council and Ilex, launched ‘Digital Derry'. This aims to stimulate and grow the digital economy to a scale that will have a positive and lasting impact. The digital economy is the fastest growing industry, with growth rates of 20% per annum. Derry aims by 2015 to be the best place in Ireland to set up a digital business.

These are exciting times for the North West. It is the private sector that will bring our economy out of recession, but it needs the right environment to enable this to take place. The regeneration plan could provide that environment. It is people who make things happen - which is why much of the regeneration plan is about raising the skills of Derry people. But it is also why it is up to the people of Derry and across Northern Ireland to make sure that the regeneration plan delivers what it is intended to deliver - the means to change our society in a way that is truly transformational.