Owners can demolish part of storm-damaged historic building

A property group has been given the go-ahead to partially demolish a storm-damaged, historic building in Londonderry city centre.

The former Convent of Mercy on Pump Street, a Georgian listed building dating back to the early 1800s, has been in a state of disrepair since it was damaged in Storm Amy in October 2025.

Barriers and shipping containers have been in place near the building for almost a year, with businesses complaining that it had cost them money.

At a Derry City and Strabane District Council meeting on Wednesday, consent was granted for phased demolition and repairs, subject to conditions.

The Martin property group, who own the building, applied for planning permission to demolish and reconstruct part of the building.

They have been asked for comment.

There is still no time-frame for when the work will begin, but Mayor Grace Uí Niallais said she was hopeful the shipping containers would come down "very soon".

Earlier this year, structural engineers warned that the building was in a "state of imminent collapse".

The damaged property dates back to the 19th Century and now forms part of a complex of protected structures, near St Columb's cathedral.

It was built in the early 1800s and once housed the offices of the Londonderry Sentinel newspaper.

The Catholic Church bought the adjacent King's Arms hotel in 1840 and during the famine an order of nuns, the Sisters of Mercy, was asked to establish a convent at the site.

By 1890, the nuns were expanding their vocation in the city and so they acquired the former newspaper office building and incorporated it into their convent site.

In the late 1970s, the convent became part of an architectural conservation area and in 1979 the complex was listed as a grade B protected building.

The Sisters of Mercy left the Pump Street site in 2005 and a few years later the buildings were briefly used as an antique and curiosity shop.

However, the former convent complex is now on the Department of Communities "Heritage at Risk" register, which said the site was in "very poor" condition and its level of risk was assessed as "critical".

Foyle MP Colum Eastwood welcomed the move and said the closure of part of Pump Street had caused "significant difficulties" for local traders.

"It's nearly a year since Pump Street was partially closed following safety concerns around this listed city centre building," Eastwood said.

"I know the closure has caused significant difficulties, particularly for traders who have seen footfall and business affected through no fault of their own.

"With council permission now approved to carry out the necessary work, I hope we can see the barriers and shipping containers removed as soon as the building is made safe and the road fully reopened."

He said the decision should be the "beginning of the end" of what has been a very difficult period for those who live and work in this part of the city.