Karen Bradley urged to intervene in stalled Lisburn housing handover

More than 250 residents of the Mountview Drive and Skyline Drive areas of the city have signed a petition calling on Karen Bradley to intervene in order to kick-start the process, which has been stalled by the impasse at Stormont.

A business case for the transfer of the disused properties – formerly Army accommodation that was declared surplus to requirements by the MoD and transferred to the Department for Communities in January 2017 – was approved months ago, but the handover still hasn’t taken place.

Clanmil Housing Group, supported by local politicians, has been trying to secure the transfer of the houses – thought to be worth around £5 million – for well over a year.

It plans to refurbish the properties, many of which have been vandalised or fallen into disrepair, and bring them back into use as social and affordable housing.

In June, the Department for Communities said it was considering how it could proceed with the transfer, without the approval of a Stormont minister.

With the process still not complete, disgruntled residents of the area are urging Karen Bradley to intervene.

Local resident Sophie Bagguley, who organised the petition, said: “The community has rallied behind this call on the secretary of state to act now so that these homes can be made available for occupation. There are young people desperate to be housed in their local community and it is unacceptable that these properties can’t be occupied because we don’t have a government to take that decision.”

Lagan Valley MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who will pass the petition on to Mrs Bradley, said it was “a shame” that the houses were being allowed to lie vacant when so many people need housing.

“I will be urging the NIO to include this type of decision within the scope of the legislation to be introduced in the absence of a functioning Assembly. It is important for the transfer of these houses to be approved as soon as possible,” he said.