Northern Ireland

Planning application for £42m investment Co Tyrone fire training college

An artist's impression for the first phase of the Fire Service's new learning and development centre at Desertcreat
An artist's impression for the first phase of the Fire Service's new learning and development centre at Desertcreat An artist's impression for the first phase of the Fire Service's new learning and development centre at Desertcreat

A PLANNING application for an ambitious £42.2m expansion of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) training centre has been submitted.

Its Learning and Development Centre is at Desertcreat just outside Cookstown, Co Tyrone and opened in September 2019.

The Fire service said the latest phase "represents the largest capital investment in NIFRS' history".

Plans include a specialist driving and road traffic collision training area, a training environment for collapsed buildings and below ground rescue and a swift water rescue training facility.

A `call out village' will include a bungalow, a semi-detached dwelling and a detached dwelling.

If the application is successful, construction will begin in early 2022 and be completed in 2024.

Health Minister Robin Swann said it will be a "flagship project".

First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill signalled their support.

Ms Foster said it was an "ambitious project" and "huge, multi-agency undertaking".

Ms O'Neill said it was "a huge investment in Mid Ulster and a good news story for the local area", with a "major boost for the construction sector and the regional economy".

Chief Fire Officer Michael Graham said it will be an investment "in the safety of everybody in Northern Ireland".