FORMER justice minister David Ford has said he will be seeking urgent clarification of a £25,000 grant offered to a mystery hall in Co Antrim.

The Alliance representative was speaking after it emerged that an Ulster Scots group has been allocated the money through a controversial scheme run by the Department for Communities.

Randalstown Ulster Scots Cultural Society was named earlier this month as a recipient of the Community Halls Pilot Programme.

It is one of 90 organisations across the north to have been offered grants of up to £25,000 to renovate and upgrade community halls.

Randalstown's mystery Ulster-Scots building

Details published by the department gave the address as 'Number 10 Portglenone Road, Randalstown'.

However, a spokeswoman for Royal Mail said there is no listing on its “postal address file” for that address.

When the Irish News visited the area this week no sign of the address could be found.

The Ulster Scots Agency, which funds projects linked to its work, has also said that it “has never provided Randalstown Ulster-Scots Cultural Society with any funding”.

In a statement yesterday, the Orange Order said the cultural society “currently holds the lease for Randalstown Memorial Orange Hall”.

The hall is one of several in the area including masonic and church halls.

The order did not respond to a request for the address of its premises.

Applicants to the government scheme must own the hall or hold a long-term lease for the hall and be the organisation responsible for operating it.

South Antrim DUP representative Trevor Clarke is listed on the assembly register of interests as a treasurer of Randalstown LOL 22.

Mr Clarke is also listed as the treasurer of a group called 'Randalstown Ulster Scots'.

When contacted yesterday he declined to confirm what his role within the local lodge is.

He also declined to confirm if he was familiar with Randalstown Ulster Scots Cultural Society.

However, when asked if he had any role with the hall he confirmed he has.

When pressed on what his role was, he replied: “I don’t think I will disclose that.”

Asked why he wouldn’t disclose his role, he said: “I don’t think I need to.”

Former Alliance Party leader David Ford last night said questions remain unanswered.

"At a time when people are rightly angry about a massive loss of public money, there are clearly questions need answered as to where precisely this money has gone to,” he said.

"It may well be completely legitimate but I will be contacting the Department for Communities to clarify this issue urgently."

An unsigned statement sent from a Hotmail email address last night claimed that Randalstown Ulster Scots Cultural Society “is a properly constituted and long-standing community group, which has previously availed of public funding".

“In this instance, we have satisfied the necessary criteria and met fully the requirements of the scheme,” it said.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Department for Communities said it “can confirm that a hall does exist at this address, with the applicant being the Randalstown Ulster Scots Cultural Society, who have been awarded a grant under the Community Halls Capital Programme”.

However, the department offered no further details.

Nationalists criticised DUP communities minister Paul Givan earlier this month after a list of recipients of the community hall grants, which included many loyal order groups, was published.

It also emerged that the original £500,000 budget had almost quadrupled to £1.9m.