DEMOLITION work will finally begin next month on the notorious Kincora house, the scene of the abuse of dozens of boys.
Hagan Homes plans to replace the east Belfast building with nine apartments in a near £2 million project.
The company, under a subsidiary CYM Properties, was granted permission earlier this year, to demolish the building on Upper Newtownards Road and construct the apartments.
The confirmation follows the beginning of legal proceedings against the Department of Health, secretary of state, the PSNI and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. Arthur Smyth alleges in the writ he was abused by Lord Louis Mountbatten, King Charles' great uncle, in the late 1970s. Lord Mountbatten was killed along with three others when the IRA detonated a bomb on his boat in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, in 1979. Mr Smyth’s solicitor, Kevin Winters of KRW Law, said the civil action alleging negligence and breach of duty of care was being taken against several state bodies.
Jim Burke, Hagan Homes' director of sales and acquisitions, confirmed: "It is anticipated that the existing building will be demolished this November 2022."
"Hagan Homes purchased a site on the Upper Newtownards Road from a private company, who had converted the premises on the site into office space. From 1958 to 1980, the site had been Kincora Boys Home and was owned by the local health authority. The home closed in 1980 following the exposure of serious wrongdoing by staff and others and it became one of a number of residential care settings that The Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) examined allegations in relation to.
"Hagan Homes recognises the suffering caused by these institutions; the HIA was the biggest child abuse public inquiry ever held in the UK. The company is also mindful that one of the recommendations in the HIA Inquiry Report (The Hart Report), states that one memorial should be created for all the victims of abuse. Given the range of institutions and the geographical spread of victims, Hagan Homes believes it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to choose a neutral location for a memorial in consultation with victims."
He added Hagan Homes is aware some victims have demanded the existing building be demolished and replaced.
