People should be cautious and very careful in relation to any development of the Maze site, the DUP’s education minister said on Thursday - 11 years after his party leader torpedoed plans for a peace centre on the more than 300 acre site.
The Lagan Valley MLA was speaking after it emerged there were talks between the body charged with developing the site and National Museums NI (NMNI).
NMNI confirmed discussions had taken place over what role it could play in the “interpretation of and access to” the former prison.
While part of the site is home to the annual Balmoral Show and a base for the Air Ambulance, all plans have effectively stalled since then First Minister Peter Robinson blocked the idea of a peace centre.
Disquiet over the possible retention of buildings that once housed both republican and loyalist prisoners was at the core of some unionist opposition. The Maze, formerly Long Kesh, was shut down in 2000.
Since, then the Maze and Long Kesh Development Corporation (MLKDC) has managed the site, but with only three permanent employees, according to its annual accounts.
Still Interim Chief Executive Bryan Gregory, in post for more than five years, said on Wednesday the corporation was “continuing to explore options” for regenerating the site.
But in its most annual recent report, Mr Gregory wrote that since August 2013, the lack of ministerial agreement on the future development of the site “have largely limited activities to essential maintenance and health and safety works”.
When questioned on whether the DUP was moving towards accepting the retention of buildings, Mr Givan cited the example of the revamped Crumlin Road jail, which he said does not have a “shrine” on the land.
“We need to find ways to work through these issues and I have highlighted to you very clearly where I believe the prison officers’ families and their story and their sacrifice is not properly understood, acknowledged and reflected in Northern Ireland,” he added.
“I think these things should be worked through, there should be people talking about how we make sure no retelling of the past, no revisionism, no celebration of those prisoners but we also reflect the price paid by prison officers, the sacrifice that they made,” he told BBC Evening Extra.
“People should be sensitive, cautious, very careful in terms of navigating this space. But I think absolutely crystal clear there will be no shrine and we will ensure those who paid the ultimate sacrifice within our prisons” will be remembered. Mr Givan’s father was a prison officer for more than three decades.
The corporation, via The Executive Office, received funding of £2m in the financial year to the end of March 2023 funded the corporation. Its overall expenditure was just over £1.1m, including total staff costs of £435,000.
Alliance Party MP Sorcha Eastwood called for greater efforts to reach an agreement. “The stock response of acknowledging the potential but doing nothing can no longer hold,” the Lagan Valley representative said.
Senior officials from NMNI met the MLKDC in April to discuss a “draft partnership agreement " that is is “in development”, the BBC reported. It was noted any arrangement could “only be activated once there was political agreement on the way forward”.
A NMNI spokesperson said: “It is our understanding that the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation has been tasked with exploring options for the future development of the site.
“Within that context we have discussed what, if any, role we could play in supporting the interpretation of and access to the heritage buildings, including the Second World War hangars and the prison buildings.
“This would be as an extension of our relevant work at our museums. However, any decisions on the future of the site rest solely with executive ministers.”
