£75,000 to help 'revamp and refresh' town centres in Mid and East Antrim
Over 90 town centre businesses in Mid and East Antrim look set to benefit from a grant totalling £75,500 to give their premises a makeover.
The ‘Town Centre Revamp Refresh’ grant provides up to 80 per cent of eligible costs to a maximum of £1,000 per business, the borough council’s Environment and Economy Committee was told at last week’s meeting.
A total of 106 applications were received of which 13 were deemed ineligible due to factors including location outside the town centres. Two withdrew due to rising costs.
A committee report also indicated council staff have carried out a vacancy audit in Larne, Carrickfergus and Ballymena town centres recently.
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.
In Carrickfergus, this figure was 18 per cent in 2023 with 13 derelict commercial units. West Street, North Street and Irish Quarter West were considered to be areas with “significant dereliction”.
In Ballymena, there were nine derelict properties in the town centre. Wellington Street was found to have “significant dereliction”.
Earlier this month, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council backed a motion for a town centre taskforce to be established locally. The motion was proposed by Coast Road DUP Councillor Andrew Clarke who said: “We should leave no stone unturned in bringing people together to try to revitalise them.”
He added: “Much of council’s rates come from our local town centres. A taskforce will aim to bring forward a strategic action plan for each town.”
The motion was seconded by party colleague Cllr Gregg McKeen who said a town centre taskforce would be built on working together with the expertise of organisations including Ballymena Bid, Larne Business Forum and Carrickfergus Enterprise.
Meanwhile, the council has been tendering for a contractor to install a temporary pop-up park in Larne town centre between Main Street and Point Street at the derelict site of former pub The Cellars.
Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter