Stadium plan dashed as special school set to expand

A football club's plan for a new stadium has been dashed after it emerged that land it had earmarked for development will now to be used to help a special needs school expand.

Strabane Athletic Football Club (SAFC) had hoped to build the stadium on land close to Knockavoe School in the County Tyrone town.

But the club's plan, first put forward in 2018, has been subject to a lengthy planning delay.

Now the Education Authority (EA), the body responsible for the day-to-day running of Northern Ireland's education system, has confirmed it has bought the site in Strabane.

The purchase of the land, the EA said, will "support the expansion of special educational needs (SEN) provision in the area".

Demand for SEN places, the EA said, "continues to grow significantly," adding the acquisition of the site represents "an important step in meeting that growing need in the north west".

In a statement, SAFC said as a club it "understands and supports the expansion to Knockavoe and special educational needs provision in the local area".

However, the club said it "was very disappointed by this decision considering the time and money invested by the club in the site".

Formed in 2010, SAFC has enjoyed success over a number of years and will play in the second tier of Northern Irish senior football for the first time next season.

The club submitted plans for the multi-sport stadium in 2018 with the application approved by Derry City and Strabane District Council in 2021.

In 2022 the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said it would make a final ruling on the application.

Last week SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan said the delay could not be justified and was "holding the club back".

At that time a DfI spokesperson told BBC News NI a decision on the plans was now "in its final stages and will be issued as soon as possible".