Your Views on the latest stories from Derry Vibe

A Future Investment in Ebrington Square

11/5/2018

After another huge successful Halloween in Derry. Now it's the come down from the huge week of events Derry has ever seen.
Also this success could also be felt over at Monster Halloween Funfair which closed for the last time on Sunday 5th November.

But now looking at the future of Ebrington Square as its seems such a waste for the land to lay empty for most of the year apart from odd music or events that take place in the square.
So is it time to make a decision on the future of Ebrington ?
Could a more frequent or permanent carnival of events similar to The Monster Funfair over Halloween work for the square?
As it certainly stands the square throughout the winter months will remain vacant and this could also boost tourism and brighten up the square as we don't want another blight on our riverfront.

Bright Lights Along River Foyle:
Just looking across the Peace bridge it certainly brightens up the area from the pictures we took over the weekend as everyone including us feel a certain downer every year when The Funfair and Big Wheel leaves town. As aftermath of that Ebrington Square just looks like a vacant land with nothing to offer anybody.
So is it time for change over at Ebrington Square ?
we look at other seaside towns across Northern Ireland or wherever you like to visit during the holidays and we see it works for other towns that has a river front. So just thinking about locals suggesting "lets go to Barry's In Portrush" instead we should be saying we wanna head over to Ebrington Square instead and see what they got to offer if that would be a funfair or something similar.

A future investment for Ebrington Square?
We understand that this couldn't be done overnight and currently the grounds is run by The Executive Office at Stormont since taken over from Ilex a few years ago but since then it has been attracting less events or investment within the square. The local government probably would want to see a more permanent tenant on site but sometimes its not possible as for instance Cullen's Amusements would have to subsidise the site for all year round even during low peak season and it wouldn't make money during winter months.
In the past we had Ice skating and plenty of other events taken place in Ebrington but in more recent times that has seemed to decline and we would like to see more done with Ebrington Square. We wanna hear your views on what could be done to bring Ebrington Square to life, by leaving a comment below.

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Could Bakery Chain Greggs Open A Store Next In Derry

1/27/2017

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Could Greggs bring its much loved pasties and sausage rolls to the streets of Derry after the company announced its "looking for 'further opportunities' in Northern Ireland this year.

Does this mean Derry could get its first taste of Greggs in the city? Well certainly the company wouldn't rule it out as it could happen on 2017..
But the question is would we like to see a huge chain like Greggs opening as Derry ?

Could a Greggs Bakers opening here ruin local bakers business as we certainly aren't short of bakers shops around town and we'd think they wouldn't be happy with the competition if it did happen.

Greggs is putting a lot of investment recently into Northern Ireland with the bakers opening its 11th store in West Belfast just a few days ago and we are likely to see more opening across Northern Ireland this year so watch this space...

Would we like to see Greggs opening a Bakers in Derry?

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Is Scary Derry Still The Best Place For Halloween?

11/8/2016

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Fireworks go off along the River Foyle to mark the climax of the 2016 Derry~Strabane ‘Out of this World’ Halloween celebrations. But is Derry still the best for Halloween?

And that's Halloween 2016 in Derry-Londonderry all wrapped up for another year but is it still the best place to go for Halloween?

We wanna hear your views in our poll if you think Derry is still the best place to visit during the Halloween celebrations?

Tell Us If You Think Derry Is Still The Best Place For Halloween:

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Is It Time To Modernise Licensing Laws In Northern Ireland?

3/25/2016

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Do we think it's about time that Northern Ireland Assembly updates the current law on licensing here?

It's no surprise to anybody here that Northern Ireland's licensing laws are a bit outdated for the 21st century and it's not just people on the streets saying this, as there is also a petition from Hospitality Ulster demanding change to the licensing laws in Northern Ireland.

This weekend pubs across the city will feel the pinch with licensing laws as pubs will have to close early and trade will be lost and is revealed that Hospitality industry loses £16m over Easter period because of limited drinking hours.

A lot of tourists to Northern Ireland are always surprised by the Easter Licensing Laws in Northern Ireland here as in the UK these laws don't exist during Easter Holidays.

We expect that a lot of bars throughout Easter weekend to lose a lot of trade and custom due to these laws but do we reckon it's time for a change?

Here is Hospitality Ulster snapshot survey found that lost revenue over the Easter period is expected to be:

Pubs £12.1m (Average expected loss £9,251 across 1,309 pubs)
Hotels £1.6m (Average expected loss £10,575 across 152 hotels)
Restaurants £2.1m (Average expected loss £3,859 across 559 restaurants)

Top hospitality chiefs are asking the public's help with a petition to call time on restrictive licensing laws and Colin Neill, Chief Executive, Hospitality Ulster has said "The industry is now at boiling point. There is anger about losing out on potential revenue; anger about losing trade to the Republic of Ireland in the border areas; and anger that the NI Assembly has left this issue hanging by not bringing forward the Bill that would modernise liquor licensing here.

We are an industry that creates wealth, gives jobs to people and pays a significant amount of tax. We are one of the biggest players in the economy in Northern Ireland and cannot sustain working under such draconian legislation. It’s a crazy situation when alcohol is still available to purchase in supermarkets and off-sales (with the exception of Easter Sunday) as early as 8am in the morning but not in a place that is safe and regulated – the pub.

You can find out more and sign the petition here

So we wanna hear your views on this issue. Is it time for change in Northern Ireland? Vote in our poll below and share your views

Should Easter Licensing Laws Be Changed Here?

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Is Contactless Becoming The Future Of Payment?

1/8/2016

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Before we had to queue in the bank for a statement but In recent times people have started to use technology "Contactless" but what exactly does it all mean?
It all started off with Contactless Bank Cards which at the very beginning people had their doubts about it but now over time it's becoming the most popular payment type and with all major banks now rolling out the technology it's quite a useful feature if you got it.

At very beginning the word "Contactless" was deemed as dangerous and a risk of your bank account been hacked but now that's all been cleared up by the banks that it is actually safer than putting your PIN into the card reader, Also top notch security is added protection with most banks so it's a handier and easier way to pay for items. Also the introduction of Apple Pay is a newer technology for your recent IPhone models so it means you won't need a bank card with you if you got your IPhone.

50% people now using Contactless payments everyday since December 2013 it's due to become bigger and current retailers you can use Contactless Bank Cards with including:

Aldi
AMT Coffee
Banardos
Boots
Caffe Nero
Chop'd
Coffee Republic
Co-op Pharmacy
Costa Coffee
Costcutter
Cruush
David Lloyd
Eat
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Greggs
Ikea
J D Weatherspoon
Little Chef
London Buses
M6 Toll
Marks and Spencer
McDonalds
Morrisons
Nandos
National Trust
One Stop
Paul's Bakers
Paypoint
Post Office
Pret
Spar
Stagecoach
Starbucks
Subway
Superdrug
Timpsons
Waitrose
Wasabi
West Cornwall Pasty
WH Smith
Wilkinsons

Some shops don't have the technology yet and may add it to their stores later in the year.

Apple Pay and Mobile Payments:

Now with the introduction of Apple Pay who were the first to introduce a payment system which you can pay for your items using your IPhone and Apple Watch now made it even easier to pay for items. Appl

Contactless Payments can only be used on newer models of IPhone 6 and 6S but older models can't use the techonlogy as of yet but maybe in the future Apple may introduce it for it's older models. You can also use Apple Pay with it's Apple Watch.
One Touch with it's finger print technology the phone scans your finger print when paying for items at a store so that it makesure it's you paying for it.

You can also use Touch ID to pay for hotels or in stores like Argos, Topshop and many others through their App on IPhone.

You can look on Apple's website for list of stores that accept Apple Pay: apple.com/uk/apple-pay/where-to-use-apple-pay/

Android:
Also catching up on this technology is Android with them introducing a Contactless payment system on their newer models of Samsung's. In future it will be on most newer models.

Microsoft Window's Phones:
Microsoft is still to introduce the technology to it's Window's Phones but we hear it's coming to newer phones and will be rolled out soon we hope for those Window's Phone users.

So that's Contactless try it out and tell us what you think we'd love to hear your views and vote in our poll on what you think of Contactless if you have already tried it out?

Will Contactless Be The Future Of Payment?

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What Would We Like To See Ebrington Turn Into?

1/8/2016

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By: Mark O'Reilly

The announcement yesterday from Environment Minister Mark H Durkan who has granted planning permission for the regeneration of Ebrington Square, But what does that mean for the square?

This announcement we've been waiting on for quite a few years since City of Culture left the offices at end of 2013. The plans now that are set out to include a museum and heritage, creative industries, education, research and development, hotel and leisure, office, residential, cafes, restaurants and parking.

Here is a plan for the site in Ebrington Square that is set out to be completed wait for it... 2033!
Yes I am not kidding you so this project is gonna take a long time but will it all go ahead as with other projects in the past have been approved and then later down the line have been forgot about or the plans never work out.

The Plan for Ebrington Square To Look by 2033:

Tell Us Your Views On What You'd Like To See In Ebrington In Our Poll:

That's the plans for the square in the future but do we think it will work out in the future that's the question?

It's been a real shame ever since they knocked The Venue down as I remember it hosted some of the biggest events and held some huge concerts during "City of Culture 2013" Year, when wee had it here but now since it's gone it seems like just a waste of empty land with no usage.

I don't see any future plans in that sketch on building a venue for the city again but it could work a great deal for the city which would bring some of the biggest events to the city and also visitors along with it.
Council really should take note of this article but I am sure they won't be reading it as they will be responsible for the future of the site later on this year and the possibility of another few concerts could come to the square if council will fund it.

Just imagine if The Venue was still in Ebrington Square it could have hosted last year's Club MTV events, well some of it and maybe hosted a few concerts like before. I have spoke to many people in the city desperate for a venue like Belfast's SSE Arena which could hold huge concerts and gigs but we won't get anyone here if we don't have a possible venue for the One Directions, Adele's or even Bieber's of the world and we won't get noticed on the world stage.

A lot have said to me over the last few years that since City of Culture 2013 it's been a big comedown for the city and nothing's really been going on or things have gone a bit quiet. I disagree on part of it as the city did host one of the best Halloween's last year as it does every year and it's one of the best nights to go out on the town but after that things kinda went very quiet but we hope councils got some tricks up it's sleeve for big events in 2016 and not just Halloween.

But that's my own personal views on the matter but We will see what happens in the next few years and also we'd love to hear your views if the option wasn't available in the Poll. You can share your views in the comments section below or Facebook and Tweet Us your views on the future of Ebrington Square?

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