MLAs lobbied on 'university city'

The U4D group want a substantial expansion to the Magee campus

The lobby group which has published radical plans to turn Londonderry into a 'university city' is taking its campaign to Stormont on Wednesday.

The group, University For Derry (U4D), will tell MLAs that an expansion of the university is essential to provide a crucial economic boost for the city.

The U4D chairman Padraig Canavan estimated that the project could cost between £200m and £300m.

He added the investment could generate the same amount annually in the region.

The group's presentation comes a day after MLAs rejected plans to grant the north west special economic status during an Assembly debate.

'Orchestrated whinge'

The DUP's Simon Hamilton dismissed that motion and said the request felt like "deja vu all over again".

He said after an "orchestrated whinge" about west Belfast two weeks ago at Stormont, the "caravan of constant complaining" had now travelled on to Derry.

Mr Canavan said the failure of the motion was unfortunate and he rejected Mr Hamilton's comments as a cheap shot which "distracted" people from the economic difficulties facing the region.

The chairman said that the city had "quite considerable assets" which he would like to see "brought together in the context of a university city to boost Derry's economic fortunes".

"If that sounds negative than I'm a bit puzzled," he added.

'Cocktail of funding'

Mr Canavan said the university project would increase accessibility to education in the whole north west region and would be an "immediate injection into the economy" because of the extra income brought the additional students and staff.

He explained that the U4D group would seek a "cocktail of funding" from a variety of sources, including the government, industry and individual donors where possible.

He said they recognised that this was a difficult time for the government financially but said that was no reason to wait.

"We want to sure in the near term, medium and long term that the economic fortunes of the city will improve and that investment will pack back in some considerable dividends."

The group's plan has drawn heavily on the experience of the new University of Lincoln, which U4D said has brought 10,000 students to the city and created an annual financial benefit of £200m.

The Magee campus of the University of Ulster is based on the Northland Road in Derry.

It currently has approximately 3,000 full-time and 850 part-time students.