Derry is to get a £12 million theatre complex at East Wall, close to the city centre. The Millennium Complex, the biggest single capital project initiated by Derry City Council, will include the city's first purpose built theatre, with a seating capacity of 1,000. The development will include a miniature "Latin quarter", cafes, bars, shops and restaurants.
Derry Theatre Trust, which is responsible for the development, includes on its board the playwright Brian Friel and the novelist Jennifer Johnston as well as representatives of the city's educational, commercial and arts organisations.
Work on the project will begin in the autumn and it is due for completion in January 2000.
Mr John Keanie, town clerk and chief executive of Derry City Council, who is the coordinator of the project, commented: "The Millennium Complex will come to be seen as the cultural epicentre of the northwest and will grow to become, in almost a literal sense, the heart and soul of Derry's regenerated walled city."