by Denis O’Brien


 
In the long running debacle over the new school for Ballinamore, there are signs that the school’s design process could get the go-ahead by the end of the month.

After a prolonged period that saw the town waiting many years for the Office of Public Works to find a suitable new school site, last September saw the Department of Education finally secure a site. Pupils, teachers and parents then hoped that the new school would go forward to the design stage as soon as possible. Now such hopes may well be realised.

Maureen Martin, chairperson of the Ballinamore Parents’ Association, is confident the school is earmarked to go forward into the next design batch to be announced around January 30.   

“We feel very confident that the school now will go forward with this batch to the design stage as we have spoken to a number of people in the Department about the matter. This news is a great beginning for the new year,” added Maureen.
The parents’ spokesperson also said that due to the huge amount of letters and telephone calls received by the Department of Education from parents and area residents, the Department is anxious to move on the design stage as early as possible.  
Work at present is believed to have begun on the site, located on the Enniskillen Road, to put in place a sewer pumping station. The design process may take up to three months, with planning permission and a contractor to be secured and the parents association believe that it still could be possible to meet an earlier goal to have the school open by September, 2009.