The winning team selected for the estimated £140,000 contract will will lead the design and project management of a cross-community development planned to foster meaningful interaction and long-term social value at a key site in the centre of Newtownbutler.

The project – which aims to meet or exceed BREEAM ‘Excellent’ accreditation – will deliver new sustainble light industrial space alongside a community gym and flexible community areas. The capital works are supported under a joint Peace Plus Funding bid in partnership with Cavan County Council and Monaghan County Council.

According to the brief: ‘The project objective is to establish a new iconic, transformative, inclusive development at the former PSNI site at Newtownbutler.

‘With investment in co-designed, sustainable infrastructure, the project will facilitate meaningful and purposeful contact between different communities and will be a lasting legacy for the Newtownbutler people.’

Newtownbutler is a small village of around 1,000 people in County Fermanagh near Lough Erne. The settlement was constructed as a Plantation village in the early 18th century and was the focus of several killings during The Troubles in the 1970s and 1980s.

The procurement comes three years after Hall McKnight Architects won Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s search for a design team for a £7.7 million revamp of the landmark Ardhowen Theatre in nearby Enniskillen.

The latest estimated £1.35 million-to-£1.5 million project, planned to complete in 2028, will create a new inclusive shared community space on the site of a former PSNI police station in the centre of the village.

The three-year appointment will see the successful consultancy team deliver all core disciplines – project manager, architect, and quantity surveyor – as part of the Integrated Consultancy Team.

The contract scope covers all RIBA stages from inception to handover, including concept and developed design, statutory and planning submissions, procurement of an integrated supply team, all site investigations and surveys, client and stakeholder consultation, value engineering and life cycle costing.

Applicants must hold employer’s liability insurance of £10 million, public liability insurance of £10 million and professional indemnity insurance of £2 million.