Maze centre EU funding approved
European funding worth £18m has been approved for a conflict resolution centre at the site of the old Maze Prison – and it is thought the Balmoral Show will be moved there next year.
The application for the PEACE III money was made in January 2011 and agreed in December.
Confirmation is expected in the coming weeks.
UTV’s Political Editor Ken Reid said it is understood the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society have earmarked the new venue for the Balmoral show in 2013.
“They are sitting ready to go,” he said.
“They have already said that the show this year will be at Balmoral but the hope would be the following year that it would be in the Maze, but there are issues that if the thing is delayed at all there could be a knock-on effect.
“I think really the RUAS are pushing for a resolution from the Executive as quickly as possible to try and get the move to the Maze as smooth as possible and on time.”
There has been much debate over the future usage of the former prison site outside Lisburn since it was closed 12 years ago.
Supporters of the planned conflict resolution centre there say it will create hundreds of jobs in construction, as well as becoming a site for education and research about the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney said: “The building of a Conflict Resolution Centre will see it becoming a venue for assisting other troubled parts of the world and also a resource for those researching the Irish Peace Process.
“We believe that there are many benefits for the wider community to engage with the history of the gaol but we now need to see work progress and the site developed and open to the public as soon as possible.”
However the news has been met with some concern by Conservative and Unionist MEP, Jim Nicholson.
He said: “This funding is not new money but rather a large proportion of the pot of funding already allocated to Northern Ireland and this £18m could have been used for numerous deserving projects across the province.
“Perhaps more importantly many groups representing innocent victims of the Troubles have repeatedly raised their concerns with me about this project, both in terms of the politically charged nature of the site and the level of funding that would be diverted from other projects.”
