Ballykinlar camp homes to be razed

Ballykinlar camp homes to be razed

1 February 2017

THE Ministry of Defence is to press ahead with a controversial plan to bulldoze 200 homes at Ballykinlar army base.

Military chiefs have rejected appeals to make a range of three and four bedroom homes formerly occupied by officers, soldiers and their families available to help ease the district’s social housing shortage.

The homes at the Abercorn Barracks complex have been lying empty since 2 Rifles moved from Ballykinlar to Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn over two years ago.

While part of the Ballykinlar base continues to be used by the police and army and other members of the emergency services for training, the homes are in a separate part of the expansive complex but army chiefs say they will be bulldozed for “operational reasons.”

Military chiefs were looking at a number of options for the empty homes but have confirmed this week that it is their intention to demolish the properties. No timescale for the demolition work has been confirmed.

In a letter to councillor Dermot Curran, the MoD’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation confirmed there are no plans to reverse the decision to demolish the 200 homes and the properties cannot be gifted or portioned off for social housing due to the Ballykinlar Training Centre being retained.

The MoD said the properties cannot be retained due to the “enduring need for the use of the adjacent training centre by army reserves and regulars,” but has indicated it is committed to working with Newry, Mourne and Down Council to plan and explore ways in which the Ballykinlar site can be used in the future.

Councillor Curran said he is disappointed the former military homes are to be bulldozed, and said many believed they could have been used to provide affordable and public sector housing in an area where many families are in urgent need of a home.

“I had hoped these relatively modern homes could have been spared from demolition but that sadly is not going to be the case. While the MoD is pointing to the presence of the training centre at the army camp, this was the case when the properties were occupied by military personnel and their families,” he said.

“Utilising these homes would have provided a timely boost for the village of Ballykinlar. During my tenure as Down Council chairman I was given a tour of the army base and was astounded at the many facilities it has, including a major dining area, swimming pool and a golf course.”

Councillor Curran is keen for Newry, Mourne and Down Council to set up a meeting with MoD officials to register its disappointment at the decision to bulldoze the homes, but also discuss potential public access to other facilities at the army base.

He added: “If the MoD is serious about working with the local authority to explore ways in which the army base can be used in the future, perhaps we could discuss the potential for a number of facilities to be used by the public as part of a plan to open up the base to community use.

“While disappointed the homes are to be bulldozed, maybe we can open channels of communication with the MoD to see if key facilities at the base could be used by the public. This is perhaps worth exploring.”

A spokesperson for the MoD yesterday morning reaffirmed its intention to demolish 199 surplus service family homes at Abercorn Barracks in Ballykinlar.

“The properties cannot be retained due to the enduring need for the use of the adjacent Ballykinlar training centre by Reserves and Regulars,” the spokesperson added.