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LONG-running plans to develop a crematorium and chapel of rest in Omagh have taken a significant step forward with the granting of outline approval for the £6m project.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council hopes to build the new facility at Greenhill Cemetery on the Gortin Road, where it would occupy a site at the edge of the existing car park near the main entrance.
The council recently lodged tender documents seeking a contractor for the first phase of work, estimated at around £840,000.
Although the crematorium initially received approval in 2012, progress over the years has been slowed by logistical challenges and criticism.
A previous proposal involving a joint venture with Mid Ulster and Derry City and Strabane Councils collapsed when both partners withdrew from the scheme.
At the time of its original conception, the Omagh crematorium was expected to become the first facility of its kind in the North outside of Roselawn in Belfast.
Under the current proposal, the crematorium and chapel of rest will be housed in a single-storey, modestly scaled building designed to provide a quiet and respectful setting for funeral services.
The council has stated that construction will follow industry best practice, with the landscaped surroundings helping ensure the facility operates discreetly and without disturbance.
The building’s proportions, they say, are appropriate for a civic structure intended to serve a sensitive community need.
The council argues there is a clear and growing demand for cremation services within the district, particularly as residents currently must travel to Belfast or Cavan for cremations.
The new facility would make services more accessible, reduce travel burdens on bereaved families, and offer an alternative to traditional burial within an established cemetery complex.
Parking at Greenhill Cemetery, currently at 228 spaces, is set to increase to 271 with the addition of 43 new spaces to support funeral attendance. The crematorium is expected to accommodate services involving over 100 people.
The project will also create two new jobs as part of its operation.
A final decision on when the work will begin has still to be agreed, and it is expected that the construction company which has been successful in the tender process will be known soon following the deadline for tender submissions.
The outline approval now means that the crematorium has been ‘agreed in principle’.
Since the Omagh crematorium was first proposed more than 15 years ago, similar facilities have opened in Cavan and in Antrim and Newtownabbey.
