IN November 2012, a report was released that outlined the exciting future of Enniskillen over the next 20-years.

The document, known as the Enniskillen Town Centre Masterplan, laid out in the most ambitious terms a myriad of ways that the town would change, develop and grow.

The future was, according to the 41-page plan, bright.

At the PSNI site, a 100-bed hotel, complete with spa, dining and leisure facilities, was proposed.

A short distance away, the Buttermarket would become a new, multi-functional public space, playing host to “market events”, complete with a two-story car park adjacent.

Elsewhere, garages at Enniskillen Bus Centre would be relocated, making way for a futuristic, timber-clad leisure building, complete with a grass roof.

Fast forward to 2024, and very few of the proposals outlined in the ambitious plan have materialised.

In fact, what was once the definite roadmap for the future has now been superseded by the equally ambitious ‘Enniskillen Place Shaping Plan 2035’, launched in September of last year.

According to the Council, the new plan “aims to build on some of the proposals which had been identified in the Enniskillen Masterplan (2012), as well as some additional proposals.”

Walking around town, and it's clear that Enniskillen is far removed from the aspirations of the early 2010s, when the Department for Social Development (now the Department for Communities) joined forces with the then Fermanagh District Council to produce the regeneration masterplan.

"The current economic conditions mean that the Masterplan has been prepared at a time when town centres across Northern Ireland are under threat of increased vacancy and dereliction," the document read, hinting at the hard economic conditions of the day.

"In this context, there is a very real need for a robust, deliverable action plan that will facilitate the regeneration of Enniskillen Town Centre over the next 15 to 20 years."

The Masterplan identified three "major opportunity sites", which were named as important for the "wider regeneration" of the town centre.

One site earmarked for "comprehensive redevelopment" was the PSNI station on Queen Elizabeth Road.

The Masterplan stated: "(We) propose that the site should be developed, in part as a new facility for the town, perhaps as an events/conference facility, with potential for Cafes, restaurants and cinema.

"The existing historic PSNI building would be retained and converted for use as a hotel", it added.

A 'potential scenario' sketch showed a brightly-coloured facility adjacent to the historic building on the PSNI site, with guard walls removed. It was envisaged that this project would be complete within four to eight years.

However, fast forward to 2024, and no development of such a building has taken place, and the Station still remains under use by the PSNI.

Meanwhile, another scenario sketch outlined the 'sensitive redevelopment' for the Buttermarket, which was named a "heritage asset".

In an artist’s impression, people appear to be enjoying a traditional 'fair day', with stalls lining a repurposed car park. Nearby, a multi-story car park is located at a building that is still derelict to this day. 

Of the proposed redevelopment, the Masterplan stated: "Enniskillen does not have a traditional market square, but the car park located to the south of the Buttermarket has the potential to become an important public space.

This project had a timeframe of four to eight years, with a total estimated cost of £2 million.

Despite these plans, no such redevelopment to accommodate "market events" and "new entrance" has taken place at the Buttermarket.

This said, the space remains an important local amenity for tourism and business.

Arguably, the most ambitious element of the Masterplan was the 'rationalising' of Enniskillen Bus Station, which like other proposals, also hasn’t happened.

This proposed the relocation of the garage facilities to a "less central location", allowing the adjacent site to become a "commercial leisure and sports facility" that is "perhaps related to water-based sports".

The  station would also include "enhanced passenger waiting and transfer facilities", which was set to improve user experience, safety and circulation.

This was identified as "medium priority" with a timeframe of 4-8 years.

As of last week, Enniskillen Bus Station and Garage remained unchanged, with no work on a proposed leisure facility yet undertaken.

There are, however, some opportunities identified in the Masterplan that have come to pass.

In 2012, the Masterplan identified the potential for public sector office relocation from the town centre to the former Erne hospital site on the Cornagrade Road.

A list of potential buildings and organisations were earmarked for relocation to this site, including South West College, Enniskillen Police Station, jobs and benefits office, Housing Executive, courthouse, Fire Station and Library.

In the end, a state-of-the-art South West College opened at the former hospital site in 2021. 

However, all other sites remain in Enniskillen Centre, despite indications that these buildings represented important commercial and redevelopment opportunities.

Interestingly, the plan also identified a major Environmental Improvement Scheme as a "significant early win" for Enniskillen, which would "be a catalyst for further development identified within the Masterplan”.

This scheme eventually commenced almost 10 years later in October 2021, and saw the delivery of high-quality paving, kerbing, surface water drainage, signage, planting/landscape design, street furniture and lighting.

The Masterplan concluded by emphasising the importance of the proposals to the future of Enniskillen.

“There is no doubt that Enniskillen Town Centre will face increased competition from neighbouring towns and out-of-town developments and, therefore, it is vital that its future is managed and that the Masterplan Vision for Enniskillen is delivered in a strategic manner,” the report concluded.

“By developing and enhancing its own assets, while drawing on the wider tourist offering of the Fermanagh Lakes, the Masterplan envisages Enniskillen as a tourist destination in its own right, and not simply as a retail hub within the county, or a gateway to the Lakes.”