Stark warning over Omagh town centre future

A MAJOR consultation on the future of Omagh began last week amid a warning that the new Strule Education Campus could be ‘potentially devastating’ for the town centre.

The Omagh Place Shaping Plan will aim to address what are being described as the ‘significant challenges’ involved in steering a way forward for the area.

Chief among them will be the task of planning for the use of a total of 11 vacant sites in the town centre. These will include those currently occupied by the five post-primary schools due to move to the Strule Education Campus in just four years’ time.

Around 3,000 students currently come into the town centre daily. The trade brought by them and their parents is seen as a vital injection of investment in town centre business.

But the draft overview of the ‘Place Shaping Plan’, which has been produced for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, contains the stark warning about the impact of the relocation of the schools, if the move is not ‘managed in a proactive and planned manner.’

Speaking to the UlsterHerald, one local business owner pointed out there remained a lot of uncertainty about what the future held for them and others.

Elma Kyle, franchisee of Subway on Main Street, said the absence of the students had the potential to impact negatively on the general footfall within the town centre.

“The students currently bring a lot of people into the town, not just themselves. There is an extensive passing trade of parents and others, including ancilliary staff who work in the schools,” she said. “Whatever happens, there is going to be a void for five to ten years when the schools are vacated before whatever is planned for them is achieved.”

“A lot of business will be concerned about the level of footfall in the town centre. There is a lot of uncertainty around what the future holds and we haven’t been able to plan because the campus has been in limbo for so long.”

Colm Broderick, President of Omagh Chamber of Commerce, said they were looking forward to engaging with the steering group which has been set up to work on the vacant sites.

“As with any largescale projects, there have been mixed feelings and fears. However, it is believed that the project will bring with it many opportunities,” he said.

“Communication is key. The Chamber is currently represented on the Strule Campus Steering Group which allows us to give members the most up-to-date information on progress and timescales and we look forward to engaging with the steering group [for the vacant sites].”

The issue was discussed at the Fermanagh and Omagh Community Planning Partnership meeting last week. It is hoped that a final plan will then be developed and presented to the council at the end of May 2022.

As part of the process, a steering group has been formed with representatives from a number of organisations and government bodies.

Omagh town Sinn Fein councillor, Barry McElduff, said he planned to represent people’s ‘creative concepts and ideas’ within the steering group.

“There needs to be an ability and a forum for all voices to be heard directly and public consultation will be key,” he said.

“This is about the future. Omagh is a unique place with its own distinct chracteristics and challenges, but we can ‘borrow’ ideas from other towns and cities.”

Its members will include Lynn McKinley of the Omagh Town Centre Forum and Nick O’Shiel, chief executive of Omagh Enterprise.

The Council has also secured funding from the Department for Communities to help facilitate the public and partner consultation process to be carried out by the firm, KPMG, who have experience of previous similar place-shaping work in Limerick and Swords and Dun Laoghaire.

The Council has also secured funding from the Department for Communities to help facilitate the public and partner consultation process to be carried out by the firm, KPMG, who have experience of previous similar place-shaping work in Limerick and Swords and Dun Laoghaire.