Press Releases
| PEOPLE MUST LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE - MOSES |
| • 31st Jul 2010 |
| • Ulster Unionist spokesman in West Tyrone, Ryan Moses, has not followed Omagh District Council Chairman, Declan McAleer of Sinn Fein in his fervent welcome of the Opportunity Omagh project. |
Ulster Unionist spokesman in West Tyrone, Ryan Moses, has not followed Omagh District Council Chairman, Declan McAleer of Sinn Fein in his fervent welcome of the Opportunity Omagh project.
Speaking as the news broke that the £350milion development has received outline planning permission to go ahead on the green field site on the ‘Derry Road, Mr Moses said, “While we welcome the news of investment and the opportunity for growth, this proposal is not wholly in the best interests of Omagh and people must look at the bigger picture”
“A development of this size, on the proposed site on the Derry Road, will tear the heart out of the Town centre trade, and that is hugely damaging for all of us. Omagh already has been by-passed and if the A5 development continues, Omagh Town will be totally forgotten all together.”
“In times of economic difficulty, we should be doing all we can to help and support the trade and industry we have, while also ensuring that new opportunities for commercial growth are managed correctly. In doing so we must be careful not to cut of our nose despite our face”
“Opportunity Omagh is a major investment for the area, but a development like this will not serve the town well in the proposed location.”
He continued, “Last year, during the early stages of this proposal, we met with Jim Nicholson MEP and Omagh Chamber of Commerce. At this meeting we discussed the very real concerns held by the Chamber of Commerce and identified that this project is a welcome investment, in the correct circumstances; the proposals we have now are not, I believe, the correct circumstances in which to take this project forward.”
“When we met in spring last year, it was hoped that the schools in the town centre, including Omagh Academy, Christian Brothers and Loreto Grammar, would move to the Lisanelly Camus site, and that the brown field sites in the town centre, that would be released as a result of this move, could be used as the location of this development. Unfortunately; that has not been the case.”
“Having a project the size and scale of Opportunity Omagh, in the heart of the town, had the potential to drive Omagh forward into the 22nd Centaury and add to the city vision for 2025. The sad reality is now we have a situation where instead of enriching the town we are left with the possibility of Omagh being a doughnut shaped ghost town, with no inner town trade, as the result of out of town development and a total by-pass”
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