Costly burden: The Stormont departments responsible for properties lying vacant across NI

Department of Finance The Department of Finance has maintained six vacant properties in recent years, including the Cookstown Social Security Office and the Downpatrick Social Security Office, which have both been empty since 2018. They have cost £31,000 and £6,188 to maintain since their closures, respectively.

It also owns two residential villas on the Stormont estate, empty since 2012 and 2017, which have cost a total of £26,400 to maintain. The Groundsman’s House at Ballymena County Hall (£761 in maintenance) and Courier HQ on the Stormont estate (£4,914 in maintenance) have also been empty since 2018 and 2017.

A DOF spokesperson said: “The Department of Finance proactively manages the buildings within the Civil Service Office Estate to ensure the level of vacancy and associated costs are minimised.

“Of those buildings listed, the sale of Downpatrick SSO has been agreed and Cookstown SSO is being prepared for sale. Courier HQ, Stormont Estate is soon to be occupied. The Groundsman’s House, Ballymena County Hall is a private dwelling located on the grounds of the site. Villas 1 and 2 are listed properties which have statutory requirements to be maintained to certain standards.”

Department for Communities

The Department for Communities has more than 200 vacant properties, many residential, and lands on its books. Other sites include the Grosvenor Barracks in Enniskillen, which has been empty for more than five years and costs £12,344 to maintain. It also owns the former PSNI station in Downpatrick, also vacant for more than five years and costing £53,000 in maintenance.

Amenity lands owned by DFC in the Poleglass area of Belfast have cost more than £950,000 in maintenance over five years.

DFC also owns Galliagh Linear Park in Derry, a former railway track in Coalisland, and the 11acre former military barracks on the Fort George site, also in Derry. All three have been vacant for more than five years.

A DFC spokesperson said: “The sites listed are at various stages in the regeneration process.”

Department of Education

The Education Authority owns several old schools which have been vacant for decades, including the Causeway School in

Bushmills, Co Antrim, which has been empty for 58 years and Tullybane Primary School in Clougmills which has been shut for 52 years.

Some 16 other sites remain in the hands of the EA more than a decade since they closed their doors. These include the former Dromore Central Primary School, which has been closed for 14 years and cost more than £34,000 to maintain over the last five years.

Other high spends in the last five years include £108,000 on the upkeep of land at the site of the old Orangefield High School in Belfast and £63,000 on Ebrington Primary School in Londonderry, shut three years ago.

Department of Health

One of Stormont’s largest departments, the Department of Health owns nine sites that are empty, including the Gransha Hospital site in Derry, which was subject to a one-off maintenance cost of £140k following an arson attack in 2020. Over the last five years it has cost a total of £214,203 to maintain. All properties and lands held by DOH are either in the process of disposal, are not surplus, or there are plans in place for future development.

“In such circumstances, the department has a legal obligation to pay rates and also to ensure vacant buildings are safe and secure,” a spokesperson said.

“Maintenance is also required to prevent the buildings falling into a state of disrepair. The Department considers this expenditure to be a prudent use of taxpayers’ money.”

Department of Justice

The Department of Justice maintains and pays rates on five properties, including four former courthouses in Banbridge (vacant since 2016), Old Town Hall in Belfast (vacant since 2014), Bangor and Larne, which have both been empty since 2013. Rates have only be paid on Larne Courthouse, however, coming in at £16,802 since its closure. Old Town Hall Courthouse has cost more than £63,000 in maintenance since its closure.

A DOJ spokesperson said: “Expenditure on property rates and maintenance is not discretionary, even when buildings are vacant. The expenditure described relates primarily to maintenance or in conjunction with the responsibilities set out by the Protocol for the Care of the Historic Government Estate.”

The Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

DAERA owns 11 vacant sites, including farms and some parks.

These include two large parks in Hillsborough, vacant since 2013, and Lindesay Hall on the grounds of Loughrey College in Cookstown, empty since 2017. Lindesay Hall and associated buildings have cost almost £60,000 to maintain.

It also owns the historic Manor House in Loughgall. It has been shut since 2018 and maintenance fees since its closure have amounted to almost £30,000.

The Executive Office

Formerly the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, TEO owns the Ebrington site in Derry, a 29 acre former military heritage site on the Foyle riverfront. The Ebrington buildings, with one exception, have been vacant since 2003 when they were gifted to TEO.

Listed and vacant buildings on the Ebrington site are exempt from rates.

However rates of more than £11,000 were paid in error from 2016/17 to 2019/20. A refund of these monies has been requested from the Land and Property Service.

TEO also owns the old Regional Government HQ in Ballymena, a cold war nuclear bunker which has been empty since 1995. Maintenance on the site has cost more than £73,000 in the last five years.

A spokesperson for TEO said: “The expenditure for 2017/18 and 2018/19 reflect higher costs due to maintenance and repairs caused by flood damage.”

Infrastructure

Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure owns 19 vacant properties, most notably the Crumlin Road Gaol Site, which has been empty since 1996 and has cost more than £80,000 to maintain over the past five years.

It also owns properties and land at the former military barracks at the St Lucia site in Omagh, which has been empty since 2007 and cost £88,000 to maintain in the past five years.

DFI said the ongoing programme of restoration and repair will safeguard these buildings in line with the department’s statutory duties to maintain the fabric of the historic buildings.

“The department has a dedicated Property Centre which is responsible for land management and processing the disposal of all DFI surplus land. An Annual Property Audit is carried out by Roads to justify the retention of land and property and ensure surplus land is identified and disposed of as quickly as possible,” they added.