Council called on to buy key site for any future rail line
Rail campaign group wants site of former line bought – just in case
A GROUP of campaigners are calling on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to purchase a site – previously earmarked as a retail park – for the development of rail in Enniskillen.
The site proposed by the group is the site of Station Green Retail Park, comprising four plots of land off the Hollyhill Link Road. The entire combined site had previously been home to Enniskillen Railway Station, which closed in 1957.
The ‘Into The West’ group is campaigning to have rail restored or improved in counties Fermanagh, Tyrone, Londonderry and Donegal.
They have written to the Chief Executive and the Chairman of the council to request that the local authority secures these plots of land. They have also written to Infrastructure Minister John O’dowd to request that the Department of Infrastructure assist the Council in this.
The Chair of Into The West, Steve Bradley, explained: “If rail is ever to return to Enniskillen – and it is our fervent hope that it will, some day – then the most challenging part will be to bring a line right into the centre of town.
“A centrally located train station would obviously be of significantly greater benefit and utility to Enniskillen than one forced to the margins of town by existing buildings.”
Noting the significance of the Enniskillen site, Steve continued: “The large combined site has a section of greenway leading to and from it, which was previously the route of one of the train lines for the former station there.
“We believe this site may realistically offer the only hope of bringing rail right back into the centre of Enniskillen again via that greenway.
“We also note that there is a proposal to move Enniskillen’s bus station from its current riverside location. The site would therefore offer the perfect opportunity and location to create a new integrated rail and bus transport hub for the town, which is something that would otherwise not be possible in the centre of Enniskillen.
“It would therefore be a huge missed opportunity for Enniskillen if these sites were left to be snapped up for other purposes, which would be of significantly less strategic importance than enabling and protecting the possibility of rail returning to this area.
‘A public duty’
“We would even assert that the Council has a public duty to secure these sites for the social and economic future of Fermanagh.”
The Impartial Reporter contacted the Council regarding the issues raised by Into The West.
In response, a Council spokesperson said: “The Council has no responsibility for the provision of rail infrastructure – this is a matter for the Department for Infrastructure.
“Any application relating to planning matters would be considered in accordance with Planning Policy.”
When asked if the Council have funds available to support the reconnection of the former railway lines to existing railway lines in the district, a Council spokesperson said: “As the Council does not have responsibility for the provision of rail infrastructure, no funding has been allocated or earmarked for the reconnection of the railway lines.
“However, the Council would support, in principle, any such development by the Department for Infrastructure.”
The Department of Infrastructure were contacted by this newspaper but had not responded by the time of going to press.
Into The West has said that the group will actively oppose any planning applications which seek to develop these sites in ways that would be incompatible with their future use for rail.
The group has also said that if the Council refuses to or is unable to secure the sites for potential future rail use, then the district has an obligation to use the planning system to ensure the sites are not developed in a way that could impede the future return of rail there.