Armed Forces Day event to be rotated due to ‘outreach policy’

The plans were outlined to members at the October meeting of the Mid and East Antrim Council.

They followed earlier discussions between a council delegation and Colonel John Rollins, chief executive of the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for Northern Ireland.

Under the proposals, Carrick could host a military tattoo the evening before the event, which normally occurs on the last Saturday in June.

Councillor John Stewart, who attended the meeting with Col Rollins, said: “The MoD have had a policy in place for the past two years whereby they want to rotate the Armed Forces Day event around different locations each year as part of their outreach.

“In a sense Carrickfergus has sort of taken ownership of Armed Forces Day, but from the MoD’s point of view, as the main funder behind the event, they want it to reach as many people as possible.

“There were a number of different locations considered including Ballymena and Lisburn, so it’s not the case that Carrick and Larne will always lose out to Ballymena.”

The decision to stage the event in Ballymena does not mean it will never return to Carrickfergus, Cllr Stewart added.

“We were assured that the MoD would support our application to host the regional Armed Forces Day event in 2016, and there’s nothing to say it won’t take place in the town in coming years,” he said.

However, a number of residents took to social media sites Facebook and Twitter voice their disapproval over the planned move.

Among the concerns outlined by several residents was the perceived potential for Ballymena, as a larger town, to gain more high profile events than Carrickfergus and Larne.

One Facebook user wrote: “Is Ballymena going to get the pick of events which ultimately brings revenue to towns?”

Posting on Twitter, another added: “This is actually a disgrace. Look at the crowds [the event] has attracted.”