Fermanagh and Omagh District Council prepares to set 2024-2025 budget  

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is preparing to agree its budget for the 2024-2025 financial year at a Special Council meeting on Thursday 08 February 2024.

The 2024-25 budget will be the first to be set in the new Council term of 2023-2027.

Over the past year the Council has delivered high quality services, supported communities and enabled investment across the district, through prudent financial management in an ongoing challenging economic environment.

The setting of the budget will determine the District Rate for residents and businesses.

Significant work has been undertaken over recent months to prepare a budget that funds key local services and a comprehensive capital programme to improve the whole district, strengthen local communities and enhance the wellbeing of residents.

The Council receives approximately 45% of the total Rates bill, which is issued by Land and Property Services (LPS) to householders and businesses in the district. The remaining 55% of the Rates is paid to the Northern Ireland Executive to support central government services such as health, roads and education.

In the last financial year, funding raised by the District Rate enabled the Council to:

• Develop and roll out a £250,000 programme of initiatives to support residents most in need due to the impact of the Cost-of-Living crisis
• Provide funding to local advice providers who secured an additional £1.5 million in benefit payments for residents
• Decide on 967 planning applications
• Leverage significant external funding including £20million from the Levelling Up Fund and €1.32million Shared Island Funding with project partners
• Invest almost £11.5 million in projects to improve facilities and infrastructure across the district
• Provide for 700,000 users to the Council’s four leisure centres and 500,000 visits to outdoor recreational facilities
• Award over £500,000 in grants and bursaries to more than 600 recipients across the district
• Upgrade 12 and transform four of our play parks to encourage sensory, explorative and interactive play
• Deliver support to 420 local businesses through a number of business support programmes
• Deliver a business start up programme which created 186 jobs
• Organise inclusive activity and training programmes to promote access and inclusion across the district with over 1,000 people with disabilities participating
• Deliver a summer scheme for more than 800 children and young people
• Perform more than 800 marriages and civil ceremonies, and register 1,420 births
• Deliver a sustainable waste management service for our 116,000 residents
• Plant 4,219 trees on Council estate to support the local environment
• Check 570 businesses for the food hygiene rating scheme

In addition, 2023 saw a number of project successes to further enhance the district as a place to live, visit, work and invest. These included the opening of ‘The Workhouse’ in Enniskillen – a state of the art business development hub and heritage space; Enniskillen winning the title of Best Kept Large Town in Ireland; the official launch of the Sperrins Sculpture Trail – an innovative tourism project which showcases the geology, archaeology and heritage of the area through a trio of interrelated and unique art pieces located at three sites in the Sperrins including Mullaghcarn in the Fermanagh and Omagh District, created by world acclaimed artist Thomas Dambo; and Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark securing reaccreditation of its UNESCO Geopark status by the Global Geopark Network Council.

The Council also developed and approved a number of key strategic plans to improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the district. These included the Enniskillen and Omagh Place Shaping Plans; a Visitor Experience Development Plan for Fermanagh Lakelands and Omagh and the Sperrins and the Local Development Plan – Plan Strategy which will provide a framework for decision making on land use for planning, housing, employment, retail, infrastructure and developments until 2030. These strategic plans and associated actions will continue to be taken forward by the Council to enhance the wellbeing of residents and the district overall into the future.

The 2024-2025 budget will be considered by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council at a Special Council Meeting on 08 February 2024 at 7pm. The meeting will be live streamed on the Council’s YouTube channel.