Demand for ‘very valuable vacant sites’ to be put to better use

A WEST Tyrone MLA has called for immediate action to address the issue of vacant Education Authority (EA) properties in the area.

Daniel McCrossan, of the SDLP, is urging the EA to either develop the sites for community use or sell them off to prevent further financial and community losses.

The EA currently owns five vacant properties in the area, including the former Dunmullan Primary School, Newtownstewart Model Youth Club, Erganagh Primary School near Castlederg, the recently closed Gillygooley Primary School between Omagh and Drumquin, and the former Strabane Grammar School site.

According to Mr McCrossan, these properties have significant potential for repurposing.

“We regularly hear from both the Department for Education and the Education Authority that there is no money,” the assembly member said.

“Yet they are sitting on very valuable vacant sites.”

While the Education Minister, Paul Givan, confirmed that only the Dunmullan Primary School and Strabane Grammar School sites are currently listed for disposal, Mr McCrossan is pressing for more decisive action across all vacant properties.

“The reality is that these sites could and should be put to use by other departments within Stormont,” he said. “But it takes so long to make progress on these decisions.”

Mr McCrossan warned that delays could lead to further costs if the properties fall into disrepair and require demolition. He highlighted the case of Gillygooley Primary School, describing it as a “hub of the community” that could be revitalised for public benefit.

The issue of vacant sites could grow further with the impending completion of the Strule Education Campus in Omagh, which will leave several town centre school sites empty.

Discussions about their future are ongoing, but Mr McCrossan stressed the importance of having firm plans in place before the Campus opens.

“The fact that the Education Authority is holding these properties means that they are falling in value to such an extent that they may have to be demolished. That is an extra and avoidable cost to the public purse and we want that to be avoided in Omagh when the post-primary schools there relocate,” he said.

“It’s crazy that the EA is sitting on so many properties,” Mr McCrossan added.