An artist’s impression of the new CREST centre
THE new CREST centre at Enniskillen’s South West College campus, is moving forward.
The centre will cost approximately £1m and could provide a real boost to industries here, helping businesses to develop and adopt renewable energy and sustainable technologies. And, it’s expected to be completed by early next year.
“To my knowledge, there is nothing of this nature in Northern Ireland,” explained Tim Stokes, the newly instated programme manager.
“We hope that the building will be ready to walk into by March next year – other work such as the reconfiguration of existing space to create offices and a Research and Development laboratory within the skills centre is expected to start in September and will be completed this year.
He added: “The cost of all building works and fitting and fixtures associated with the new pavilion and refurbishment of existing office space is approximately £1m. The CREST pavilion itself is expected to cost around £825k.”
When asked whether the centre was likely to create jobs, Tim said that it was ‘likely’.
“Yes, there is likely to be job creation as a result of CREST, but I’m afraid I can’t provide an accurate estimate of numbers as there is no clear number given in the economic appraisal of the project. CREST has so far directly created 4 new jobs in Enniskillen and nine overall (including at Sligo IT, Cavan ITC and Dumfries and Galloway College. In supporting micro-businesses it is likely to indirectly safeguard and create new jobs, but I can’t say more than that at this stage.”
The project is supported by the INTERREG IVA Programme, managed by the Special European Union Projects Board (SEUPB), with match funding provided by Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation in Ireland.
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