Skip to content

Swimmers' 90-minute round trip during pool revamp 'not feasible'

Elaine Mitchell
BBC News NI south west reporter
BBC Two girls standing either side of a woman with red hair. They are all wearing green and black tops of their swimming club. They are standing outside with trees in the background.BBC
Swimmers Ellie Dunlop (l) and Holly Barclay (r) and coach Jenny Brewster (centre) say that travelling the extra distance is not practical

Members of Lakelanders Swimming Club in County Fermanagh have said that travelling to Omagh for training while their usual base is under redevelopment is "not feasible".

The proposed overhaul of the Lakeland Forum is expected to cost £70m, £18m more than ordinally estimated, and would mean the leisure centre closing for two years.

The redevelopment plan for the Fermanagh Lakeland Forum has been given the go ahead at a meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.

The vote saw 32 councillors support the redevelopment and 6 councillors against.

The chief executive of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Alison McCullagh said that there was "no plan B".

"We either want a leisure centre or we don't.

If we choose not to proceed by the end of the year the Lakeland forum will close by necessity and we'll have no plan B".

At the meeting councillors were made aware of a legal challenge to the proposed redevelopment plans.

Alison McCullagh said a "third party" had concerns in relation to the process and were "threatening legal action".

The chief executive said that the issues had been "exhaustively considered" and she was happy the meeting could continue as planned.

'Literally insane'

Holly Barclay, a member of the Lakelanders Swimming Club, is worried what it will mean for her.

The council has set aside dedicated early morning time slots for the group at Omagh Leisure Complex - about 28 miles away from Enniskillen.

But the 13-year-old said this was not ideal.

"I'm there [Lakeland] almost every day sometimes twice a day," she said.

"To see it get knocked down is literally insane."

"I don't think [Omagh] is doable. We are supposed to be there at 06:00 in the morning so that would mean leaving home at 05:00 and we'd be waking up at 03:45 every morning," she told BBC News NI.

A boy wearing a green and black t-shirt standing looking at the camera. he is standing outside with a car park with some trees and a purple sign in the background. The writing on the sign cannot be made out due to being out of focus.
Conal Walker says training in Omagh would been an extra hour and half of driving every day

Jenny Brewster, a coach at the club expressed similar disappointment.

"I am given the option of taking my two children 45 minutes down the road, 45 minutes back, five o'clock starts, how was that fair?"

Another swimmer, Conal Walker, said that an extra hour and half in the car each day "is just not feasible for the long term with all the exams I have coming up".

Ellie Dunlop said that she hoping to qualify for the national squad and represent Ireland in swimming.

"Unfortunately that might not be possible if I'm not able to train as it is incredibly time consuming driving."

What will the proposed leisure centre include?

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council An artists depiction of a leisure centre which has been redeveloped. It is surrounded by water and trees.Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
The proposed redevelopment plans will include extra swimming capacity

The plan is to build a new state-of-the-art leisure, health and wellbeing hub on the waterfront site of the existing 49-year-old leisure centre.

Included in the proposal are sports amenities including a new eight-lane swimming pool, separate learner pool and splash pad for young children and gym facilities.

It would also have community areas and dedicated areas for health and wellness activities.

But some people are concerned by a lack of facilities in the area during the redevelopment.

Adam Gannon stands in front of a cream-coloured wall. He has short brown hair and a short brown beard. He is wearing a light green shirt.
Adam Gannon says the redevelopment will cost £70m

Support for the proposed redevelopment

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council said it had offered "a comprehensive programme of alternative leisure provision" to ensure users have access to a range of leisure facilities during the proposed redevelopment.

Councillor Adam Gannon told a public meeting on Monday night that the Lakeland Forum overhaul would cost £70m.

Gannon said he understood the concerns some people had but that he supported the redevelopment plans.

"The room tonight was very much people who are against the proposals, I know in my experience engaging with the community that people there are a lot of people for this," he said.

"I know the majority of communications I've had with people is supportive.

"Councillors have known rough costs for over two years now.

"Building a big project is about more than the bricks and mortar".

Noelle McAloon with shoulder-length brown hair stands outside a leisure centre. She is wearing a navy top and a grey jacket and has small gold hoop earrings.
Noelle McAloon says the redevelopment plans are very exciting

Noelle McAloon, the manager of Enniskillen Business Improvement District, and said the plans were very exciting.

"There is a lot of wet weather here so having additional wet weather facilities would be hugely beneficial, having a new building that people can feel proud of having," she said.

"We need the facilities, we need the leisure facilities that are becoming of Enniskillen.

"There is huge potential, because we have so many lovely visitors and tourists that come here throughout the year so having somewhere that they can go when the weather isn't as nice would be really, really beneficial to the town and could bring lots more visitors in".

The redevelopment plan will be part funded by £20m from the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund.