Strule campus: Biggest NI school project on hold

About 4,000 pupils will eventually go to school on the campus

The Department of Education (DE) has suspended the procurement process for the biggest school building project in Northern Ireland.

There are fears it could lead to a further delay in the completion of the flagship Strule shared education campus.

The £140m project will eventually see six schools built on the site of the former Lisanelly army base in Omagh.

Work began in 2013 but only one school is currently open.

Arvalee special school and resource centre opened to pupils in September 2016.

The other five schools planning to move on to the site are Loreto Grammar School, Omagh High School, Sacred Heart College, Omagh Academy and Christian Brothers Grammar School.

'Take stock'

About 4,000 pupils will eventually go to school on the campus, which includes some shared areas, such as a school of performance, sports facilities and an ecology centre.

Plans for the development were originally submitted in 2010, and work began on clearing the site in 2013.

However, the original target opening date of 2020 for completion of the entire project has already been put back until 2021.

The Strule campus has been in the pipeline for more than a decade

A letter from the Department of Education, dated 22 February 2018 and seen by the BBC, said that "ongoing uncertainty" around the department's capital budget for 2018-19 and beyond had led to a delay in the release of the invitation to tender.

That was eventually released on 8 February, and the BBC understands that two bidders came forward.

However the letter said that one bidder had now withdrawn from the tender process.

"As a matter of urgency we are assessing the implications for the ongoing viability of the procurement of this contract," it read.

"As a result the decision has been taken to suspend this procurement process as we take stock of the situation."

Omagh SDLP councillor Josephine Deehan said she was worried that completion of the campus would now be delayed further.

"The Strule campus has been in the pipeline for over a decade and we fully expected that it would be full steam ahead," she said.

"Urgent replacement of some of the older school buildings in Omagh is absolutely necessary."