THE DEVELOPERS behind the planned Lakelands Retail and Leisure Park have said work is continuing on the project in the background and they would be advertising jobs and tenders soon, despite delays in the planning process.
The plan for the multi-million leisure and retail park at the site of the old Unipork site in Enniskillen had faced fierce opposition from some local business people worried about its impact on the town centre with objectors fearing the development, which would be located on the Cornagrade Road, was “too far” out of town.
However the development, which is being built by the Curran family from Tyrone, also garnered huge support from the local general public, with many excited by its plans which include retail giant The Range, as well as a cinema and bowling alley from the Donegal family which owns the Brunswick Moviebowl in Derry.
Earlier this year, following a close vote in the chamber, the Council planning committee gave the controversial development the green light.
However, following an objection from a local business man, a ‘holding order’ was placed on the local planning decision and the application has since been with the Department of Infrastructure for consideration.
In a post to the development’s Facebook page this Monday, a statement from the developers stated there had been no progress on the application since it was called in for the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) almost six months ago, with the application “still under consideration.”
“Works would have commenced at the former Unipork site had it not been for the small number of trader objectors requesting that our application be sent to DFI headquarters, thus frustrating and delaying the whole project,” they said. “As a local company, we gave an undertaking to deliver this project to the people of Fermanagh, and it is our intention to deliver.”
The statement went to say the calling in of the application by the Department must also have been frustrating for the Council’s planning committee, who had given the application the green light, as it overruled their decision at a local level.
“Our trusted, professional planning and legal team are confident we will have the planning approval documents shortly,” the statement continued, adding work was ongoing in the background.
“In the meantime, we are continuously working in the background, preparing the building control, engineering drawings, and engaging with NI Water, NIE.
“This will ensure we can hit the ground running once the planning is received.”
It added: “We now have agreements for nearly 90% of the retail space to retaliates which are currently not in Fermanagh including The Range. We will be releasing exciting news of these retailers’ as soon as the formal approval is received.”
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