'Gateway' into town getting a facelift

This forms part of council’s efforts to help regenerate Cookstown in conjunction with the Town Centre Forum and the Department for Social Development.

Work on this scheme started this week and is expected to take around two months to complete.

The scheme design encapsulates two of the district’s key tourism heritage resources Beaghmore Stone Circles and the Sperrin Mountains.

Welcoming the start of work, Cllr Tony Quinn, Chairman of Cookstown District Council said this novel initiative representing Cookstown’s historical heritage and depicting the town’s modern day brand identity, will positively transform the appearance of the roundabout at one of the key arterial gateways to and from the town centre.

Work will result in the creation of a new central mound to replace existing planting. And on this mound will be a central stainless steel stone and ring sculpture, depicting the Beaghmore Stone Circles.

The mound itself representing the Sperrins, will grade down to gravel to form a representation of a scree slope before stopping to revert to grass to facilitate sightlines around the roundabout.

Encircling the sculpture will be planted a ring of Birch trees in a bid to give a sense of context for the sculpture and the mound. Birches are used as the historical translation of Beaghmore meaning ‘Big Birchland’.

The sides of the mound will be planted with strong shrub planting in bands, in a simple layered approach. A complementary feature incorporating the Cookstown town centre brand will be integrated at the base of the mound.

Cllr John McNamee, Chairman of Cookstown Town Centre Forum said this highly visible scheme will make a significant impact on entry and exit to the town by thousands of users who travel along the A29 daily.

“Without the generous financial support from the Department for Social Development this initiative would not have been possible,” he added.

Some disruption is anticipated during work, however the contractor will strive to keep disruption and inconvenience to road users to a minimum.