The Ulster Unionist Party's Mid Ulster MLA Sandra Overend, has welcomed the news that the Training College for the Police, Prison and Fire Services has been granted full planning permission for its proposed site at Desertcreat, outside Cookstown.

Ms Overend said: "The news that the Training College for the Police, Prison and Fire Services has been granted full planning permission is great news for Northern Ireland as a whole and Mid-Ulster in particular and both I and the people of Mid-Ulster are keen to see work start as soon as possible.”

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"The project itself is due for completion in 2015 and it is estimated that between 1,500 to 2,000 jobs will be created whilst the facility is being constructed. I am very keen to see that every effort is made by relevant Government Departments within the relevant legal parameters to ensure that the contracts relating to the construction and operation of the College are placed with local Northern Ireland firms.

"Once this facility has been constructed, the whole of Northern Ireland will benefit from having our emergency service personnel trained in the state of the art facilities which they deserve, and the local Mid-Ulster economy will benefit due to the increased number of people using local shops and services when the College opens."

(CD/GK)