Debate contribution: Maze/Long Kesh Redevelopment and Investment
Debate contribution by Mr David Honeyford on .
- MLA
- Mr David Honeyford
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 23 April 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- Maze/Long Kesh Redevelopment and Investment
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4485702
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As I and others have said before, Maze/Long Kesh is a symbolic microcosm of Northern Ireland. It has all the potential, resource, location and opportunity, but it lies underutilised and, in the main, dormant. Maze/Long Kesh symbolises not only our past but the Northern Ireland of today and its potential for the future. It is an example of where our ambition for growth, unfortunately, meets the divisive nature of Northern Ireland politics, where we will not make a decision. Unrealised potential means that everybody misses out and everybody loses. I remain hopeful, however, that the potential can finally be realised and seen and that the community around the site can play a part in that. I also feel hopeful that this region can be confident and have a prosperous future. If the Assembly is to fully function and deliver for everyone in the North, the Executive, First Minister and deputy First Minister must start to make hard decisions and long-term investments that future generations will feel the benefits of. They must make the decisions that are a vital component of growing our economy in order to give local companies a platform on which to thrive and attract inward investment. The advantage of growing our economy is that it raises the living standards of every one of our constituents. My colleague Sorcha Eastwood said that there are opportunities at Maze/Long Kesh to develop a new green business technology zone for green energy and agri-food. It could link with our colleges to grow our entrepreneurial base, and it could use the intellectual property that is owned and lives here to generate wealth locally. The site could be used for our design and manufacturing industry to generate foreign direct investment and create jobs, apprenticeships and opportunities. The Maze/Long Kesh site is located centrally on the island in the M1 economic corridor, and the new Knockmore Link will provide easy access, linking the potential of the central industrial hub of the Belfast/Dublin economic corridor to the site. There are opportunities to provide land for community leisure facilities and sports pitches, which are in huge demand in the area. Like Northern Ireland, the Maze/Long Kesh site was once associated with conflict and has not realised its full potential. There has been substantial tourism investment in Hillsborough. There has been investment in Hillsborough village by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, and it is to be commended for that work, which has been funded as part of the city deal. The city deal is to create and market a tourism opportunity and offering for the stunning Georgian Hillsborough village, with its bars, restaurants, cafes, boutique shops and hotels. Alongside the royal residence of Hillsborough Castle and its gardens are The Dark Walk, the fort and the neighbouring forest park. The area hosts the Ulster Aviation Society, as was mentioned, and there is the Eikon Exhibition Centre. Importantly, the Maze/Long Kesh site contains one of the remaining H-blocks. Finally building a peace and reconciliation centre could massively enhance and add to the offering and bring our community together in a way that helps us to deal with our past and our history. It would physically demonstrate the progress that we have made as a society, as we move towards peace, and it would be a place where others could learn from us. The site would be:
"one of the biggest development opportunities anywhere in Northern Ireland".
That is what Peter Robinson said about the site in 2012. It could be an economic driver for tourism in the wider area. Approximately 70% of tourists enter the island from the South. We need to attract them into the North, and developing the site will help us to market the area and benefit everyone. This is the future that we could have. This is our future, but we need political leadership to deliver the results that will bring the community along. If we choose to walk into this, we will need decisions, not nice words. We have had a peace process for the entire adult lifetime of practically everybody under the age of almost 50. While it is important to continue the work towards a truly peaceful society, this has to be the time when we finally start to look forward and finally start to look for and build prosperity for the wider region in the North. The development of the MLK site is subject to ministerial agreement on the way forward. Decisions finally need to be made, setting political baggage and aspirations aside, decisions that move this forward. I look forward in hope that decisions will come that provide the opportunities that this generation and the next deserve.
778 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.07 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.79).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.04 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.79 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.07 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.97 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:16 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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