Council to spend £400k on new windows for Omagh HQ

FERMANAGH and Omagh District Council (FODC) plans to spend almost half a million pounds on new windows to make its Omagh headquarters warmer for staff.

FODC faces a total bill of £400,000 to install triple-glazing at The Grange premises, which is the base for dozens of local employees.

The new windows will replace single-glazed panes throughout the building.

The council said the expenditure represents ‘value for money’ and will provide ‘essential health and safety improvement for users’.

Kim McLaughlin, the council’s director of regeneration and planning, said there are ‘significant draughts’ in The Grange building.

However, the TaxPayers’ Alliance, has questioned the council spending so much on replacing the windows.

Its digital campaign manager, Joe Ventre, referenced the council’s decision to abandon both the Halloween fireworks and the Christmas lights switch-on ceremony last year due to ‘financial pressures’.

“While taxpayers are happy to see savings, cancelling Christmas to save a few pennies seemed unnecessarily harsh,” he added.

“Council bosses should look for efficiencies elsewhere.”

The decision to spend the £400,000 was taken by the council’s regeneration and community committee.

Wth envisaged savings on heating of £4,525 per year once the new windows are implemented, it is set to take upwards on a century before this latest energy-saving measure recoups its initial expenditure.

Kim McLaughlin, director of regeneration and planning, said the new windows will help the council meet its Climate Action Plan, which includes a target of achieving a minimum of a ‘C’ rating.

“The Energy Management quarterly report for October to December 2021 notes that the Grange building had the third worst performance in terms of heating related energy intensity,” she told councillors.

“Energy modelling identifies that the triple glazed solution in the Grange will result in an 83 per-cent reduction in useful heat loss per annum, equating to reduced heating costs of around £4,525 per annum.”

The scheme was welcomed by councillors when it was discussed at a recent meeting.

Omagh independent, Dr Josephine Deehan, said, “It’s ‘totally unacceptable that staff have to work in a cold building.”

The council said that, in total, there will be triple-glazing installed on 111 windows in the Grange building.

In a statement to the UH, a spokesperson said the council believed the cost of replacing the windows represents value for money.

“The installation of new energy efficient windows at The Grange represents an investment in a more sustainble approach to asset management and will contribute to the target set out within the council’s Climate Change and Sustainable Development Strategy for a net zero District by 2042.

“In the short-term, the project will also provide essential health and safety improvement for users of the building, including staff, visitors and general public.