Larne public’s views invited over proposal for a pop-up park in town centre on former pub site
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is holding a public consultation event over a proposal for a pop-up park in Larne town centre.
The council plans to create a temporary community space between Main Street and Point Street at the derelict site of the former Cellars pub.
The council has secured funding of £154,000 from Department for Communities (DfC) which is almost 90 per cent of the cost of the project.
It is expected the facility will provide a green space with a new footpath, seating and planting with the aim of encouraging footfall in the town centre. Development work is likely to take place during the autumn for completion next spring. The council has said it has secured lease of the site for up to four years.
Mid and East Antrim Mayor Councillor Jackson Minford commented during an announcement of DfC funding support, saying: “This is one of many projects council has planned for Larne over the next 12 to 18 months, aiming to regenerate the area, address the changing nature of our high streets and tackle the issue of vacancy and dereliction.”
The drop-in event will take place at Larne Town Hall, on Wednesday, October 15, from 5pm until 7pm.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s ‘Town Centre Health Check’ report 2024 states that of the 277 premises in Larne town centre, 72 were vacant at the time of the survey in March of last year, of ground, first and second floor uses, 60 were retail services; 45 were leisure services; 21 were finance and business; 12 were convenience and others had more general use.
By comparison, there were 290 units in 2018, of which 62 were vacant.
The report stated: “Larne has a strong offer of retail services (21.66 per cent), well above the Northern Ireland average of 13.86 per cent while financial and business services (7.58 per cent) are slightly below the NI average. Larne has a lower proportion of leisure services within the town centre (16.25 per cent compared with the NI average of 19.81 per cent).
“At the time of the MEA council survey, Larne had 72 vacant units resulting in a proportion of almost 26 per cent. This is higher than Carrickfergus and Ballymena’s vacancy and well above the Northern Ireland average (20.12 per cent).”
In October 2019, a planning application was made to to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council for 22 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom social housing apartments on the former Cellars site.
Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter