Timeline: Desertcreat college, NI's stalled police, fire and prison training facility

The planned college was described in 2005 as "a real improvement on existing facilities available to police"

It was supposed to be one of the best training colleges of its type anywhere in the world.

But with more than a decade having passed since it was first proposed, the planned state-of-the-art centre for Northern Ireland's police, fire and prison services has yet to materialise.

BBC News NI looks at the problems that have dogged the stop-start project over the last 10 years.

February 2004: Police college set for Cookstown

A new £80m police training college for Northern Ireland is to be built near Cookstown in County Tyrone, the Policing Board announces.

It will be situated on a 210-acre site at Desertcreat on the outskirts of the town and is expected to open in 2007.

July 2005: College plans given planning approval

Planning permission is granted for a state-of-the-art college.

Sir Desmond Rea, the chair of the Policing Board, says the new facility will "be a real improvement on existing facilities available to the police".

November 2005: College cost rises by £50m

The new academy is to cost £50m more than first expected, and will not be completed until 2009.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) says land costs, fees and changes to the original plan caused the rise.

The 210-acre site for the planned college sits on the outskirts of Cookstown in County Tyrone

May 2006: Police college future 'in doubt'

Government funding issues put the future of the new college in doubt, a Policing Board member says.

With the building cost now set at £150m, the government is offering £40m less than that total, according to Democratic Unionist Party MLA William Hay.

February 2007: Government plans to fund college

The government plans to provide all of the funding for a new joint police, fire and prison service college, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain announces.

Each service had wanted to build its own centre, with combined costs reaching £170m, but an integrated college could be built for about £130m.

October 2011: £139m college given Stormont approval

The business case for the joint public services college is approved by Northern Ireland's Department of Finance and Personnel.

The PSNI's Dep Ch Con Judith Gillespie says Irish police and the FBI have also expressed interest in using the facility that is now expected to become operational in 2015.

Plans for the college to integrate police, fire and prison service training centres were approved in 2011

January 2013: Planning green light for college

Fresh planning permission is granted for the centre.

It is expected to create up to 2,000 construction jobs.

March 2013: Cost spirals due to 'incompetence'

"Professional incompetence" by the design team working on the project led to the costs spiralling by more than a third, from £101m to £137m, it is revealed.

May 2013: Hope over college construction date

Justice Minister David Ford says he is optimistic work on the long-awaited college will finally begin in October 2013.

December 2013: Contractor appointed for college build

Contractors are appointed to build the college, with work now scheduled to begin in spring 2014.

Belfast company Gilbert Ash and Spanish firm FCC will carry out the work, and the next few months will be spent agreeing the final cost.

Justice Minister David Ford had been optimistic that construction would begin in October 2013

March 2014: 'Big challenge' to deliver project

There is uncertainty over whether the preferred bidder can meet its tender requirement, a Stormont committee hears.

The PSNI's Dep Ch Con Alistair Finlay says the contractor has informed the project team that sub-contractor prices are above their estimates and it is looking "too big a challenge" for it to hold to its price.

April 2014: College project put on hold

Plans for the college are put on hold after the programme team decides the preferred bidder cannot deliver the project within budget.

The contractor says they can build the college for £133m, but they are told the budget will be no more than £104m.

June 2014: College plan 'to go ahead'

A team in charge of plans to build the college makes a recommendation that the project should continue.

Work has still not started on the site that was bought 10 years ago.

More than 10 years after the site was purchased, work has yet to begin on the college project

November 2014: Steering group halts college plan

A steering group overseeing the new college development says the project should not continue.

With more than £12m already spent on the site and design fees, the group says concerns about the current financial environment mean it "would not be prudent to press ahead".

March 2015: Original plan 'no longer viable'

The departments of justice and health accept a recommendation they should go back to the drawing board over the college project.

The programme team says the plan is no longer economically viable, and the college as originally envisaged is no longer needed.

June 2015: £53m funding lost over stalled college

Northern Ireland loses £53m of public money earmarked for the college.

A Stormont committee is told the Treasury has withdrawn the funding.

October 2015: Radical redraw for college plan

Plans for the college are radically redrawn by the programme board.

The fire service would get a £44m complex at Desertcreat, while the PSNI would be given about £20m to refurbish its existing training facilities in east Belfast.

The prison service would receive funding for training at Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons.

December 2020: Planning application lodged for college

A planning application is lodged for the development of a £42.2m training facility for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS).

The plans seek to develop the NIFRS Learning and Development Centre, which opened outside Cookstown in 2019.

If approved, the NIFRS said the project would represent the largest capital investment in its history.

June 2021: Planning approval granted for college

A new £42.2m training facility for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) at the Desertcreat site is granted planning approval by Mid Ulster District Council.

Construction work is due to begin in 2022 and be complete by 2024.