Plans submitted for new bridge across River Strule in Omagh

RENEWED planning permission is being sought for a new bridge across the River Strule in Omagh.

The proposed bridge will provide a link between two parts of the massive Strule Shared Education Campus, which is due to open in 2028.

Construction work on the Strule campus, which will bring six Omagh schools together on the one site, only started in February of this year, despite the campus plans being first announced as part of the Hillsborough Agreement in 2010.

Planning permission for a bridge on the campus was previously granted in 2019 but the permission runs out after five years.

Therefore, the new application is seeking a renewal of the planning permission previously granted.

The Strule site was previously used as a military base from as far back as the 1880s.

The British Army vacated the huge site in 2007 and since then there has been much discussion, but little action, about the educational plans for the land.

Now, after many years of delay, the Strule Shared Education Campus, the biggest education project of its kind ever undertaken in the North, is slowly taking shape.

When completed, the site will be shared by six schools – Arvalee School & Resource Centre, Christian Brothers Grammar School, Loreto Grammar School, Omagh Academy Grammar School, Omagh High School and Sacred Heart College.

Each school will have its own building but there will be a range of shared facilities, including sports facilities.

The new bridge will link the Lisanelly and St Lucia portions of the site.

There is already a bridge, which was built by the British Army in the 1980s, linking the two areas but it is in poor condition and needs to be replaced, according to the construction team involved in the new Strule campus.

When contacted this week for the latest on the Strule project, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said the ‘Main Works Contract’ for the campus was awarded to Woodvale Lowry Joint Venture Ltd last August and work began a month later.

“Construction began on site early February 2025 after a design development period,” the spokesperson added.

“The campus will be fully open to its 4,000 learners in September 2028 and will provide sector-leading facilities to deliver a modern and progressive curriculum.”

The Department of Education is currently seeking views from people in Omagh and the surrounding areas on the Strule campus plans.

“This will help inform the Department’s community engagement activities and information campaigns that will be developed during the construction of the campus.

“More information on the progress of the project and information on how to complete the survey is available on the dedicated website at Strule.org.”