By Conor Sharkey

STRABANE District Council has stepped in to rescue a £1.25m building project currently under construction in Sion Mills.

The 12,550 sq ft Workspaces Project in the grounds of the old Herdmans Mill has been in the pipeline since 2000.

Originally, the project was costed at just over £1m, however delays because of various funding and legal issues, saw the overall cost rise substantially to £1,264,000.

The extra cost left Sion Mills Building Preservation Trust (SBPT) well over budget and after exhausting every financial avenue, the body was recently forced to turn to Strabane District Council for £20,000 in a "last ditch effort" to save the project.

In a letter to Strabane District Council, SBPT's Celia Ferguson said that while all previous support was appreciated, it was imperative that the extra £20,000 be found if the project was to survive.

"We must, very reluctantly, but of absolute necessity, ask the Council if they would consider granting a further £20,000 in order to ensure that the £1,264,000 already granted is spent in Sion Mills," she said.

Mrs Ferguson added: "This is the FINAL hurdle, and we sincerely hope that the Council will again help us over it."

While there was cautious support from councillor's on Monday night, some representatives did sound their reservations that the donation could lead to problems in the future.

Castlederg councillor Charlie McHugh said: "We have been involved in this project from its inception and it would be awful to see it going belly up at this stage. But we do need to be sure that they have looked at every avenue open to them."

The sentiment was shared by other councillors, however Ulster Unionist Jim Emery said the decision could come back to haunt them in the future.

"I am sympathetic, but if you do this, do you open the flood gates?

"If word gets out, how do we deal with it in the future," he asked.

Council Chief Executive explained that while the £20,000 was not immediately at their disposal, it could probably be found.

The issue was deferred until Tuesday night, when it was decided that council would provide the shortfall, with £10,000 being supplied this year and a further £10,000 next year.

Expressing her gratitude to Council for their intervention, Celia Ferguson said yesterday (Wednesday): "We are extremely indebted and it was with great reluctance that we had to ask.

"But it was that or lose the whole thing. So we are very grateful and hopefully now we can get the rest of the Mill sorted in its entirety.

"Hopefully this will encourage others to come and restore the rest of the buildings," added Celia.