MoD pull-out bad for schools

MoD pull-out bad for schools

2 April 2014

THE Ministry of Defence has acknowledged the impact its decision to transfer soldiers out of Ballykinlar army base will have on local schools.

Army chiefs are moving soldiers from the 2 Rifles Regiment based at Abercorn Barracks

to Lisburn’s Thiepval Barracks, a move which politicians have warned will not only

impact on schools, but the local economy.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says it has no plans to close the Ballykinlar base which will be retained as a key training facility, but acknowledges that transferring soldiers and their families from the area will impact on schools.

Dr. Andrew Murrison, the UK’s Minister for International Security Strategy, said he understands there will be an impact locally as army personnel and their families leave Ballykinlar.

In a letter to South Down MLA Jim Wells, Dr. Murrison said the MoD “acknowledges the potential for an effect on local schools as a consequence of the move.”

Dr. Murrison suggests this may be partially addressed through a successful bid to a special MoD fund to assist public-funded schools to mitigate the effects of exceptional mobility or deployment of Service personnel.

“Abercorn Barracks is only part of the estate at Ballykinlar,” his letter continues. “As well as extensive ranges and a variety of training land used by all units in Northern Ireland, it is also home to the Northern Ireland Recruit Training Centre.

“The facilities are constantly used to provide a range of skills for personnel — both regular and reserve — and I can assure you that the intention is to retain Ballykinlar in this capacity for the foreseeable future.”

Dr. Murrison said work is continuing to establish what the future Northern Ireland training requirement is and how the existing training estate can best be shaped to meet that requirement.

Last week, Down Council said it believes the on-off saga surrounding the £130m police training college in Cookstown could be solved by locating the facility at the army base in Ballykinlar.

Politicians are to write to the First and Deputy First Ministers seeking their support for the Cookstown project to be switched to Down District, saving taxpayers tens of millions of pounds.

The training college project for PSNI and Fire and Rescue Service Personnel was in the news recently after the preferred bidder revealed the project could not be constructed within a £130m budget.