Construction work begins at former Tyrone Hospital site

WORK has begun on the construction of the proposed 164 new homes on the site of the former Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh.

The development of the houses on Hospital Road is being undertaken by South Derry company, South Bank Square Ltd, under the branding of SBS Developments.

It has been almost three years since the firm was announced as the new owners of the expansive site in the town after purchasing it from the Department for Health.

The buildings associated with the former hospital, which was opened in 1899 and was one of Omagh most’s distinctive sites, were demolished at the beginning of 2022. The last of the homes were removed as part of the site clearance and preparation works which has taken place in the past fortnight.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council recently decided that the new homes would be known as Camowen Avenue.

The private residential development includes a mixture of two, three and four bedroom units.

A Tree Preservation Order was also implemented by the council on a number of historic trees within the site.

When the purchase of the site was announced in 2021, the developer also said they would be providing a portion of the new homes to NHS staff at a reduced rate.

The hospital was closed in 2017 when all services and staff were re-located to the new Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex on the Donaghanie Road.