§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the former Whiteabbey girls training school property at Old Manse road, Newtownabbey, which is now the subject of a planning application No. 0175 by the Northern Ireland fire authority, was transferred or sold to the authority by the Department of Environment (NI); whether the legal matters involved in the transaction have been completed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 6 March 1989]: This property is owned by the Secretary of State for the Environment. It has not yet been sold to the Fire authority for Northern Ireland. Final completion of the sale awaits the outcome of the authority's planning application for a fire brigade training school. The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland will shortly re-consult the Newtownabbey borough council as to its opinion on the planning application, following which the Department will then issue its planning decision.