Plans to turn ex-health centre into business hub in Omagh

PLANNING approval has been given for a new enterprise hub on the former Omagh health centre site that could create around 250 new jobs.

The £5.5 million development will host 50 commercial outfits.

It will primarily provide small and flexible office space for local businesses.

In 2021, £4 million was secured for the innovative project through the UK government’s ‘Levelling Up Fund’.

The old health centre building, which sits on the corner of Mountjoy Road and Old Mountfield Road, was closed in 2017 after the four GP practices relocated to the new Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex on the outskirts of town.

After of years of hard work, Omagh Enterprise Company, which bought the property off the Western Trust in 2018, finally received planning permission from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) to make the space once again an asset to the people of the town.

Omagh Enterprise Company chief executive, Nicholas O’Shiel, said he was delighted that planning permission had been granted.

A driving force behind the ambitious proposal, he outlined the plans for the refurbishment, including the creation of new office space, the retention of a pre-existing pharmacy and the instalment of new electric vehicle charging points in the car park.

“We will now be working with the planners to choose a contractor by January or February of next year.

“After that, it should be around 15 months until the work in complete, meaning the Hub should be ready to go by mid-2025.”

Mr O’Sheil emphasised that the current building will not be demolished, but, rather, refurbished.

“The walls – or skeleton – of the building will remain, but the place will look very different, both inside and out,” explained the chief executive.

“There will be 64 office spaces, which will be used by around 50 small to medium sized start-up businesses, and this should create about 250 new jobs.

“As well as that there will be pharmacy and new electric vehicle charging points in the car park.”

Mr O’Sheil believes that this ambitious project could ‘enliven’ what has in recent years been a quiet part of Omagh town.

“This has been a slow part of the town for some time now, but I hope that the Hub can be the beginning of a new era for it.

“You will also have 250 employees heading into the town for their lunch and grabbing coffees from the town centre. It should have positive knock on effects for the local economy too.”

President of Omagh Chamber of Commerce, Colm Broderick has also welcomed the good news.

“This is brilliant news and I totally support Nick and the team at Omagh Enterprise Company who helped bring it to life.

“It will be a real boost for local trade and the daytime economy, especially in that section of the town, which has been underdeveloped in recent years.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction for Omagh.”