There will be no development at the site of the former Maze prison which would cause hurt and pain to victims of terrorism, deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly has pledged.
It came as SDLP Stormont leader Matthew O’Toole told MLAs the saga over the regeneration of the Co Antrim site had been “going on longer than The Mousetrap”.
Political disagreement over the future of the grounds of the former prison near Lisburn, which held scores of paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles, has halted major redevelopment.
While some of the site has been utilised for Balmoral Park for the annual agriculture show and by the Ulster Aviation Society, a large part of the grounds, including where the former prison buildings stand, remains derelict.
The DUP blocked plans to build a peace centre at the Maze in 2013 over claims it would become a “shrine to terrorism”.
The former prison only compromises part of the 347-acre site that falls under the remit of the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation, established in 2011.
Ms Little-Pengelly updated the Assembly on discussions over future plans for regeneration on Monday.
Mr O’Toole told her: “You said it is important that nothing happens on the site which gives offence to victims.
“I agree, but the problem is nothing is happening on the site at all.
“The saga of the Maze/Long Kesh redevelopment has been going on longer than The Mousetrap.
“It has been sitting there, a wasting asset.
“If the Executive Office cannot progress this can I suggest that two things happen.
“One: a simple, poignant memorial is put up for all those who want to remember at that site.
“Two: the rest of it is given over to social housing or some other productive form of economic development.
“This farce cannot continue indefinitely.”
Ms Little-Pengelly responded: “If he wants to tramp over the concerns of victims that is up to him.
“I will not be engaging in that, I will be moving forward with consensus with victims and survivors, because anything that we do should not cause further hurt.
“It is not for me to decide what is the way forward and impose that on those who have been associated with this site and have hurt and sensitivities in relation to it.
“I want to unlock the potential of the site but that has to be done in a particular way.”
TUV MLA Timothy Gaston asked the deputy First Minister if she agreed with previous comments from her party colleague Lord Dodds that the preservation of the Maze prison’s H blocks, including the hospital wing, would inevitably become a shrine to terrorism.
Ms Little-Pengelly said the building had been listed at the request of a former secretary of state under a period of direct rule.
She added: “Where I am absolutely clear, and I will reiterate this again, is that nothing will happen on that site as long as I am deputy First Minister that would cause hurt and pain to victims and survivors.
“That is my promise to victims and survivors.
“There is nothing I would wish to do to cause any further pain and hurt on those who have suffered the most and who have given the most in terms of Northern Ireland.”
