By Adrian Mullan

THE scheme devised by Omagh District Council to raise money for the building of the Omagh's magnificent new Strule Arts Centre could be in crisis, following a glitch in the sale of the town's Tourist Information Centre.

It had been expected that the sale of the TIC would generate £2.25 million as a buyer had been found.

However, the buyer has now pulled out of the deal and the council will have to start the process of exposing the TIC to the open property market which has 'slowed down' considerably in the past two months.

As a result, Omagh town Councillor Paddy McGowan has now raised concern that a possible fall in the value of the TIC as part of the slowdown in the property market could lead to a shortfall of funding for the Arts Centre.

The Centre received funding from the Arts Council (£4 million) and the Department of Social Development (£3.1 million). A further £658,000 was received from a range of other organisations including the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the Energy Savings Trust, Northern Ireland Electricity and European funding through Local Economic Development in addition to about £1 million from local rates.

However, the balance was to be made up from the sale of council property. Cllr McGowan said he hoped that the building would be sold at its full potential otherwise rate-payers could be saddled with making up the difference.

He said, "If it's left on our hands it will have an effect on the overall balance of the Arts Centre. But it's in a prime location; in fact, it's in the best location that any business could hope for."

The cost of building the Arts Centre was £10.2 million. It tied in with other major regeneration projects in Omagh such as the building of the new Omagh College, the weir on the Strule and the already started riverside walk.

In addition to the possible difficulty that the fall-through of the TIC sale poses, it is understood that the council may also be subject to financial penalties if the contract is not finished within the specified deadline.

A council spokesperson said, "A certificate of practical completion for the Strule Arts Centre was issued in line with the schedule of works following which the Council took possession of the building. The facility was subsequently opened to the public on Friday June 8, 2007.

"Some work, particularly relating to the betterment of properties around the centre, still remains to be completed and a programme of such works is currently being attended to. Standard conditions of contract were included when the contract was drawn up and the Council will adhere to its contractual obligations."