Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is one of 11 new Council areas created following the Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland. It represents the largest geographical Council area and brings together two legacy councils.  We have a population of around 114,000 people and have approximately 7340 businesses, employing some 38500 people. The area is a scenic landscape with a mix of tranquil Lakelands, heather clad mountains, ancient bog lands, forest parks and has a rich cultural heritage.  The Council provides the following services:

• Business Support
• Community Support
• Environmental Health
• Building Control
• Sports and Leisure
• Arts and Culture
• Facilities Management (including waste collection and disposal)
• Tourism
• Planning

The Council funds the provision of such services to the local community through the collection of rates payments from householders and business owners. One of the Council’s stated aims is to make the area a place ‘where people choose to live and work’.

The Council’s role in GREBE emanates from our Economic Development role and builds on our previous experience of providing businesses within our area with support tools to enable them to survive in tough economic climates and to grow and prosper with new high growth potential business opportunities.   We have a number of local businesses operating within the Renewable Energy sector, representing a range of areas of involvement including installation businesses, energy efficiency advisors, technology manufacturing and renewable energy producers.

Specifically the role that the Council will undertake within the GREBE project is the development of business mentoring focussing on innovative Renewable Energy and energy storage technologies and the piloting of a business mentoring model through the delivery of the Entrepreneurial Enabler Scheme.  This will involve delivering mentoring support to 12 businesses across our region and developing a model of best practice for the provision of mentoring to RE businesses and those endeavouring to enter this market sector. This model will then be shared across the partner organisations within the programme, each of whom will roll out their own business support provision.