SDLP Slieve Croob candidate Mark Murnin supports Down District Council’s decision to call for the new Police Training College to be based in Ballykinlar Army Camp.
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SDLP Candidate for the Ballynahinch area Mark Murnin supports the possibility of moving the police training facility to Ballykinlar.[/caption]
After years of holdups, construction work on the new police training college in Cookstown has suffered yet another setback. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness originally told assembly members it would be March this year when building was to begin, then it was to be May and he has now announced June.
First announced in 2004, the troubled project was predicted to be finished by 2008 for a cost of around £80 million. Costs have now spiralled to be in the region of £157 million.
SDLP council candidate Mark Murnin believes these issues could be solved if the complex was constructed at Ballykinlar Army Camp. The army base is on a huge campus with modern accommodation and has a large array of training facilities, considered one of the best equipped in the UK.
He said: “This could create ample opportunity for local contractors and businesses to supply materials and work on the project, not to mention civilian staff that provide cleaning, catering and security services to the camp.”
Councillor Dermot Curran also commented lending his support saying: “The great facilities that are already situated at the Ballykinlar complex could save the taxpayer millions. We have to look for the value for money as well as the opportunities it could create for local jobs and businesses.”
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