Coleraine is a town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland at the mouth of the river Bann. It has a town centre, a marina, a theatre and a major campus of the University of Ulster. It is also the location of the 200ft Mountsandel mound, where wooden houses dating from about 7000 BC were uncovered.It also has the headquarters of Coleraine Borough Council.The Borough Council area together with the neighbouring district of Limavady, forms the East Londonderry constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
Coleraine has been dubbed the 'Tourist capital of the Country' due to its popularity as a tourist destination. Well-known people from Coleraine include the actor James Nesbitt, and David Cunningham from the band The Flying Lizards, who produced the zeitgeist-defining hit single 'Money' in the early 1980's.Coleraine, during the day is a busy town, however at night the town is relatively quiet, with much of the nightlife in the area located in the nearby seaside towns of Portrush and Portstewart.Coleraine also has its own radio station - Q97.2FM, which broadcasts across the Causeway Coast.
Coleraine is the main town or “Capital of the Causeway Coast”. The Borough of Coleraine has a resident population of 57,000. As the regional centre for the North East the town serves a catchment population in excess of 200,000. Coleraine is home to the main campus of the University of Ulster, with nearly 6,000 students.
Coleraine is top of the league for tourism. The Coleraine Borough area accounted over £37 million of the total tourism spend in Northern Ireland in 2002 and played host to over 2 million visitors. The Causeway Coast is an area of outstanding beauty, which boasts World Heritage Sites such as the Giant’s Causeway, blue flag beaches and championship golf courses.Commercial Investment in Coleraine in the period 1997-2003 was well over £90 million.
The new Diamond Shopping Centre with over 140,000 sq ft of retail space opened September 2002. A new £33 million hospital, £6 millions Civic Centre and £2 million Bus and Rail Interchange represent some of the major investments in the area’s infrastructure. Coleraine is investing in the future to create a regional town of distinction.
