A NEW action plan for Newbuildings envisages major regeneration in the village over the next 15 years with a new formal civic space, village green, cricket pitch and games area all earmarked.

A number of currently derelict sites in the village will also be revamped if the plans are fully implemented.

The �Dam Row� site where London�s Goldsmiths originally settled in Newbuildings is ironically now scrubland but under the plan it is seen as the primary catalyst of the regeneration programme.

The new action plan provides for a new cricket pitch, a new Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), a new village green, a new formal civic space and the redevelopment of the former Desmonds factory and the former Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society Ltd (IAWS) site amongst other potential development sites.

It identifies a range of deliverable initiatives to facilitate economic, environmental, physical and social improvement to the village over a 15 year period.

Produced on behalf of Assisting Rural Communities (ARCNW) by the Paul Hogarth Company in consultation with the local community the plan should not - its authors insists - be viewed as a �finite blueprint for development� but does provide an ambitious vision for the future of the village.

Newbuildings, Park and Lettershandoney are just three villages across the North West bidding for �190,000 under the ARCNW renewal fund and yesterday Derry City Council�s Development Committee agreed to set aside �20,000 from its 2012/13 Economic Development Plan to facilitate support for whichever three villages are eventually successful.

Its six overarching aims are environmental improvement; improved transport infrastructure; village centre development; improved transport and mobility; a new leisure and recreation hub; and the raising of the profile of Newbuildings.

The plan suggests effectively creating a new village centre including a civic space, a village green and a new mixed use perimeter block.

The Dam Row site at the corner of Duncastle and Victoria Road will be �the primary catalytic project within the Action Plan.�

�If realised this site has major potential to unlock substantial benefits for both residents and visitors alike,� it says.

The site will include a perimeter block with central parking with an emphasis on �animated mixed uses� along Duncastle Road and Victoria Road; a new formal civic space within the heart of the village; and an official village green.

The envisaged timeframe for the project is short-term and will be privately funded within a five year timeframe for delivery.

Whilst the Dam Row site is classed as the �primary catalyst� for development the former IAWS site is classed as �the largest of the opportunity sites in Newbuildings.� Due to its substantial size a comprehensive masterplan should be produced for it, the plan states.

The former Desmonds factory and a row of vacant properties on the Victoria Road opposite the Dam Row site are also targeted for private development over the next fifteen years.

Equally, the development of a new sports hub centring on Newbuildings Youth and Community Centre also forms part of the exciting new proposals. The action plan projects a new MUGA pitch to be developed within five years.

The authors identified a need in the short-term for a second sports pitch and as a result the Action Plan includes proposals for a new MUGA near the community centre which will provide �passive surveillance enabling younger users to utilise the facility safely.�

The new cricket pitch is a longer term goal and will take up to a decade to be realised.

�In direct response to feedback received from the community consultation workshop, a further opportunity exists in the medium-term to acquire additional adjoining lands to the north east of Community Centre for the establishment of a dedicated cricket pitch,� the report states.

The plan also proposes sorting out the problem of �rat-running� on Foyle Crescent with the introduction of community designed traffic calming measures; the refurbishment of Villa�s Inn; a new �park-and-choose facility;� new gateways marking arrival; an improved setting at Newbuildings Methodist Church; a new walkway along the Foyle; moorings near the �Point;� and the development of pedestrian routes linking residential areas, historical sites and new amenities.