Desertcreat police and fire training college plan halted

A team in charge of plans to build a new training college for police and other services in County Tyrone has said the project should not continue.

The £130m facility at Desertcreat was to have been shared by police, fire and prison services.

More than £12m has already been spent buying the site and on design fees.

But a steering group in charge of the project has said concerns about the current financial environment mean it "would not be prudent to press ahead".

The Community Safety College, near Cookstown, would have been one of Northern Ireland's biggest construction projects.

It was first announced in 2004 and was originally due to be finished in 2008.

Last December, it was announced that a consortium made up of Belfast company Gilbert Ash and Spanish firm FCC had been appointed to build it.

Work had been scheduled to begin earlier this year.

However, a senior police officer told a joint meeting of the Enterprise and Justice Committees in March that the procurement process was still ongoing.

Alistair Finlay said there was some uncertainty over whether the preferred bidder could meet its tender requirements.

Work on the site at Desertcreat had been due to begin earlier this year