Plans for new tourist accommodation in the centre of Omagh

PLANNING approval is being sought for the provision of ten new bedrooms at the Main Street entertainment complex in Omagh town centre.

The application has been submitted by well-known local businessman, Michael McElroy and the project is being developed on behalf of Brackenfield Properties Ltd.

It comes almost a decade after the first 13 bedrooms were built and opened to the public in late 2016.

The project is the latest stage in the development of accommodation on the site at Main Street, which remains a central part of the town’s hospitality industry.

This application will utilise a number of vacant units on the site, which was once the old Royal Arms Hotel which served Omagh in the 19th and 20th centuries and was replaced by Main Street more than 20 years ago.

Planning approval was also granted two years ago for the change of use of the first floor for rooms.

However, these have not yet been built.

According to planning documents, each of the proposed ten rooms will be linked directly to the parent business, Rooms at Rue.

It is expected that Fermanagh and Omagh District Council will make a decision on the current application within the coming months.

Last year in an article with the Ulster Herald, the prominent local businessman said he believes that Omagh could be capable of becoming ‘one of the most tourist-friendly towns on the island of Ireland’.

On that occasion, Mr McElroy maintained that, with a coordinated and concerted effort, the county town could attract large numbers of visitors from Belfast, Dublin and further afield.

He added that the town required monthly or even weekly large events to ensure that more and more people come on a regular basis.