Written question asked by Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 24 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 June 2006. It was answered by Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour) on Monday, 5 June 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ballykelly Army Base

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) process and (b) timescale will be for the disposal of the married quarters accommodation associated with the Ballykelly army base.

Answer: As announced by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, on 10 May 2006, Shackleton Barracks Ballykelly is scheduled for closure as part of the on-going normalisation programme. It will then be passed to Defence Estates (DE)—the Ministry of Defence (MOD) agency responsible for the defence estate—for disposal no later than April 2008. This will include the associated married quarters.DE will ““trawl”” the property under local arrangements. These allow for surplus MOD sites in Northern Ireland to be offered to Northern Ireland Government Departments before being offered to former owners or on the open market.

Secondary information