Army camp could be training centre

Army camp could be training centre

5 November 2014

HOPES have been raised that Ballykinlar army camp may be turned into a state-of-the-art training facility for the emergency services.

There has been growing support for Ballykinlar to be the location for the new Northern Ireland Community Safety College, which would include training facilities for the PSNI, Fire and Rescue Service and the Prison Service.

The camp complex was recently vacated by the army and is being privately managed although it is still owned by the Ministry of Defence.

The Community Safety College had been earmarked for Desertcreat in County Tyrone but this week the group overseeing the project announced it would not be prudent to go ahead with the scheme because of rising costs.

There is now rising conviction that Ballykinlar would be a reasonable and less costly alternative.

South Down MP Margaret Ritchie has made representations about the potential for the development of Ballykinlar camp to the British and Irish governments, including the Secretary of State for Defence and the Ministers for Justice in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

She believes the location would be perfect for an all-Ireland training centre for the emergency services.

Although she concedes that no final decisions have been taken about Desertcreat, she says the increasing doubt over its future development would prompt her to make further representations about Ballykinlar to the British and Irish governments.

“I think Ballykinlar would be a good location as it should be a much cheaper option than Desertcreat,” she said.

“That would help the difficult budgetary situation, while sustaining the local economy, particularly in Ballykinlar.”

The rising uncertainty over Desertcreat escalated on Monday when Justice Minister David Forde, in a letter to the Justice committee, said the steering committee established to oversee the project did not believe it would be prudent to proceed because of financial concerns and high exposure to risk.

The college was going to be one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken in Northern Ireland and was originally scheduled for completion in 2018.

However, in April, the developer selected to carry out the work said it could not complete the build for the £115m budget. The anticipated cost of the new build has since soared to £170m.

Just over £12m has been spent securing the County Tyrone site and producing designs for the college.