Warrenpoint PSNI station sale is put on hold over Brexit fears
THE sale of a PSNI station at the border has been scrapped due to concerns over Brexit — with speculation that it could end up as a checkpoint.
In a statement to the Newry Reporter the PSNI confirmed that the station, based in Warrenpoint, Co Down, had been withdrawn from the market “due to the uncertainty surrounding the implications of Brexit”.
They said that any sale was “pending clarity around future arrangements”.
Warrenpoint PSNI station went on the market in 2016 after closing its doors.
SDLP councillor Declan McAteer said Newry, Down and Mourne Council had wanted to buy the station to turn it into a community centre.
The close proximity of the station to Warrenpoint Harbour, formerly used for customs duties, and the Irish border has led to speculation that the station could be used in a customs or border security role.
It remains unclear what the Irish border arrangements will be after Brexit, with Prime Minister Theresa May and Secretary of State Karen Bradley saying the government is committed to having no border infrastructure.
However, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said that current proposals from the government are unrealistic.
Mr McAteer said the area would be a natural location for customs infrastructure in the event of a hard Brexit.
“It would serve a much better purpose being a community centre than any kind of customs station to serve a Brexit that nobody wants,” he said.
“I presume that somebody inside government must have said, ‘Don’t dispose of that because it may be needed for some kind of customs storage’.
“I know that there was talk that if customs were to go back into Warrenpoint Docks, across the street from the station, there would be severe pressures in the docks area. There used to be an old customs house there, but Brexit has put a lot of pressure on their development plans.”