Derry City and Strabane District Council has voted to write to Ulster University and Economy Minister seeking reassurances over the expansion of Magee campus to 10,000 students by 2032 after the university pulled out of a £9.4 million (€10.86 million) PEACEPLUS-funded sports dome project.

The motion, tabled by SDLP Councillor Lilian Barr during September’s council meeting, noted that the decision not to proceed with the dome means the funding will be returned to the Special EU Programmes Body. Councillors are seeking clarification on future plans for the proposed project site, alternative investments for the Derry-Magee campus, and confirmation that the university remains committed to expansion and its City Deal obligations.

Sinn Féin Councillor Christopher Jackson described Magee expansion as the single biggest project for the North West economy, adding that it is a strategic priority for his party at council and ministerial level. He said the decision not to avail of SEUPB money was disappointing but not surprising given the university has previously stepped back from commitments.

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said the sports dome would have served students and the community, and was the only one of its kind on the island outside Limerick. He criticised the Vice-Chancellor for making a unilateral decision to withdraw the project.

In a separate motion, Independent Councillor Paul Gallagher successfully proposed that the council publish a publicly accessible, real-time map and schedule of major developments across the district, including operational, approved, live, appealed, pending and undetermined proposals.

The map will cover wind farms, single turbines, battery energy storage systems, substations, associated access roads and cable routes, as well as major electricity-demand developments such as data centres. It will identify environmental and landscape designations, including the Sperrins Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Councillor Gallagher said the proposal responds to a recent Assembly motion calling for a moratorium on new large-scale data centres until a full cost analysis is completed. He told the chamber the measure will allow communities and planning officers to see the bigger picture and make informed decisions.

The council also agreed to request a cumulative impact report for the whole district, with particular focus on the Sperrins AONB, and asked planning officials to engage with the Department for Infrastructure on coordinated assessment of major energy and electricity-demand developments.

Both motions were passed during the September full council meeting.