Work to restore former department store to begin in 2026

Work to restore a former department store in Londonderry that traded for more than 180 years before its closure is to start in early 2026.

Austins in the Diamond closed 10 years ago after the business went into liquidation.

Earlier this year the building, one of Derry’s most recognisable landmarks, was bought by the Inner City Trust.

Now the trust has said initial “exploratory and conservation work” will begin on 12 January with the building’s new anchor tenant expected to be announced later in 2026.

Helen Quigley, from the Inner City Trust, said the first phase of work will take up to 10 weeks with work in full getting under way later in the year.

“It will be late summer 2026 when the big work then commences,” she told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.

“We will be able then to announce who will be coming here.”

The initial conservation work is a “critical phase,” heritage architect Karl Pedersen said, and will guide the building’s full restoration.

The first aim is to come up with a conservation plan and carry out detailed work to assess the building’s condition.

Austins was synonymous with shopping in Derry for almost two centuries.

In 1830 – some 20 years before Harrods of London began trading and more than a quarter of a century before Macy’s of New York opened its doors – Thomas Austin came to Derry and opened a drapery shop on a city centre corner.

When it closed in 2016, more than 50 workers lost their jobs and the building has been empty ever since.

The Inner City Trust bought the building earlier this year after receiving a grant of £1.2m from Stormont’s Department for Communities.

The trust, which works to inject commercial and social life into Derry’s city centre, also received almost £0.5m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to pay for the explanatory works.

“This is the beginning of a new chapter for Austins, transforming a much-loved landmark into a place of pride, energy and opportunity once more,” the Reverend Robert Miller, chairman of the Inner City Trust, said.

Its regeneration will “spark fresh life in local businesses, creating lasting benefits for our whole community”, he said.