The Transfer of Former Military & Security Sites to the Northern Ireland Executive

Mr Kieran Donnelly, the Comptroller and Auditor General, today issued his report to the Assembly on the Transfer of Former Military and Security Sites to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Mr Donnelly said: “Although these sites were transferred free of charge, one of the conditions attached to their transfer was that the Executive had to meet the cost of making the sites ready for use. My report records that up to 31 March 2011 this has cost the Executive just under £48 million, primarily on the Maze/Long Kesh, Crumlin Road Gaol and Ebrington sites.”

Key Findings

  • While there has been some success in putting in place “quick win” projects such as the opening of the Crumlin Road Gaol to the public and the construction of the Peace Bridge at Ebrington, the pace of regeneration has been slow. This is reflected in OFMDFM only spending half of the £85 million of public funding that was made available to it for this purpose since 2003.
  • The experience from the Maze/Long Kesh site, where the cost of decontamination is expected to exceed £8.5 million, demonstrates the importance of carrying out due diligence checks to protect the Northern Ireland Executive from the financial burden of remediation and the cost of maintaining and in making sites safe and secure.
  • Some 14 years after its introduction, a key part of the Waste and Contaminated Land legislation, which deals with issues such as decontamination, has not been brought into force in Northern Ireland. As a result Councils and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency are unable to fully exercise their inspection and regulatory powers in respect of contaminated land on former military sites and ensure that "reasonable remediation" is undertaken.
  • Although the Malone Road site was sold to a private developer in 2003 for £3.8 million, NIAO has concerns that the sale proceeds were not maximised; the site was sold without planning permission; and clawback provisions, although considered, were not included in the contract. Both OFMDFM and DFP disagree.
  • The proceeds from the sale of the Malone Road and Magherafelt sites were to be used specifically for purposes which represent a tangible benefit of the peace process. However, it is unclear to NIAO how these ring-fenced proceeds have been used.

Key Recommendations

  • OFMDFM must ensure that delivery strategies for the Maze/Long Kesh, Ebrington and Crumlin Road Gaol sites (in association with DSD which owns the adjacent Girdwood site) are finalised and implementation plans put in place as quickly as possible to enable the private sector to plan for investment.
  • Strategic oversight arrangements should be put in place to provide assurance to the OFMDFM Board on progress on all sites sold to or transferred to the Department.
  • OFMDFM should put in place within its Programme for Government, Public Service Agreement targets that are based on the desired outcomes for the sites that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound (SMART).
  • In any future transfer or sale of former military or security sites appropriate protocols should be developed, ahead of sale or transfer.
  • The current gap in the Waste and Contaminated Land legislation should be closed and effective inspection and regulatory powers enabled. This should ensure that the appropriate person(s) are held responsible for remediation.
  • All departments should clearly track and account for how “ring-fenced” money is spent and ensure that the process is transparent to the Assembly and the local communities it is intended to support.