Coffee shop and gelateria proposed for former bank in Larne town centre
A planning application has been submitted to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for a new addition to Larne town centre.
The application, which has been made by an agent on behalf of Assemble Brunch Company, is for change of use of a former bank premises to a coffee shop and gelateria, selling ice cream.
The proposal relates to the former Halifax branch, at 33 Main Street, which closed its doors in November 2023 following a change in the banking habits of the majority of its customers..
Meanwhile, the former Dunnes Stores premises, which neighbours the former Halifax outlet, shut its doors in 2019, remains on the market for £1m.
In July, East Antrim Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly travelled to the retailer’s headquarters in Dublin where he waited unsuccessfully for seven hours to speak to a company representative about the impact the premises which has lain vacant for seven years has had on Larne town centre.
Mr Donnelly intended to hand deliver a letter to the company’s CEO Margaret Heffernan and to request a meeting with the person responsible for properties in Northern Ireland.
The letter said: “Over the past seven years, the condition of the property has become increasingly worrying. The building has been broken into on numerous occasions and the car park has become a location for anti-social behaviour, including public drinking and drug use.
“This is one of the most prominent buildings on Larne’s Main Street. Instead of contributing to the town centre, it has been left sitting empty year after year. It has become an eyesore. It affects neighbouring businesses, reduces footfall and undermines the efforts of everyone else who is trying to improve and invest in the town centre.”
Meanwhile, Mid and East Antrim council staff carried out a town centre vacancy audit of business premises in Larne, Carrickfergus and Ballymena town centres earlier this year.
According to a town centre audit carried out by the borough council in 2023, one quarter of properties in Larne town centre were vacant. Of these, 12 buildings were either vacant or derelict and deemed unfit for occupancy with Dunluce Street and Point Street the worst affected. There was an increase in vacancy and dereliction from 22 per cent in 2020 to 26 per cent in 2023.
Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter