Pool bases and walls rise on GRAHAM's £70m Passivhaus leisure centre in Enniskillen

GRAHAM has said the main structure of the £70m Fermanagh Lakeland Forum leisure and wellbeing centre in Enniskillen is now visible across the site, with the concrete base of the new swimming pools under construction.

The contractor said concrete walls, structural supports and stairwell structures were being built at the same time as the pool base. Below-slab insulation and specialist gas and water membranes, designed to meet the standards needed for Passivhaus certification, have also gone in.

The project was procured through the Major Works Framework managed by Pagabo and is supported by £20m of UK Government funding, GRAHAM said. The council's April 2025 approval announcement identified that money as coming from the Levelling Up Fund.

Councillor Debbie Coyle, Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, said: "It is fantastic to see such substantial progress being made on this transformative redevelopment project with the scale of construction activity now visible on site."

The project

The council describes the redevelopment as the most significant capital investment it has ever undertaken. AECOM is project manager on its behalf, and the council names the construction contractor as John Graham Construction Ltd.

The completed building will have an eight-lane 25m pool, a separate learner pool and splash pad, a gym and fitness suite, community wellbeing spaces, a sensory room, soft play and a café. Outside, the scheme includes a play park, pump track, 3G pitch, an active waterfront and connected walking and cycling trails on the banks of the River Erne.

GRAHAM's update describes the centre as Ireland's first Passivhaus-certified leisure centre. The council's project page says it will be Northern Ireland's first Passivhaus-certified leisure centre and swimming pool, and its April 2025 announcement called it the first Passivhaus standard leisure facility in Northern Ireland. The council said it drew on learnings from St Sidwell's in Exeter, the UK's first Passivhaus leisure centre, which is run by Exeter City Council.

How it got here

The council's 2019 consultation survey on the project drew 817 responses. In November 2023 the council referred its proposed subsidy for the rebuild to the Competition and Markets Authority's Subsidy Advice Unit, which accepted the request on 7 November and published its report on 19 December 2023. The CMA's case page records the subsidy as calculated at up to £45.7m.

GRAHAM, which the council described as a local company, was appointed in August 2024 through Pagabo's major works framework to finalise the design. That design formed part of the Full Business Case the council considered before deciding whether to proceed. GRAHAM is a framework supplier on all three lots of the Pagabo National Major Works Framework and a core supplier on Lot 3, for schemes of £30m and above, covering Northern Ireland, Scotland, North England, the Midlands and South East England.

Councillors approved the redevelopment of the 49-year-old centre at a special meeting on 15 April 2025, and the existing Forum closed on 30 April 2025 to make way for construction.

On 27 February 2026 the council announced that piling had finished, allowing work to move into drainage and foundation installation. Work on the new car park and access road outside the building footprint was also under way at that point. William Gott, Project Manager at GRAHAM, said at the time: "Completing the piling works marks an important milestone for this landmark project."

Social value and local works

The council reports a social impact total to date of £2,346,036.30 from the project.

A section of the grassed area at Broadmeadow, in front of Fermanagh House, was temporarily closed from Monday 12 October to facilitate the works, according to the council.

The council anticipates the new centre will be complete in 2028.