New social housing planned for former bank site in Ballymena town centre

The development is proposed for the corner site of the former Bank of Ireland building at Church Street and Broadway Avenue.

The proposal is for 19 new apartments – 16 one-bed and three two-bed units on the first and second floors and in a “standalone” four-storey building to the rear, fronting on to Broadway Avenue.

Retail use is proposed on the ground floor. No parking spaces are proposed. There is another social housing scheme opposite the site at Broadway Avenue.

TheBallymena branch of Bank of Ireland closed in October 2021 as part of a strategic review of its business in Northern Ireland.

A report to planners says the original bank building had been previously listed. However, it was de-listed in 1987. The building was subsequently demolished and an “identical” facility was built in its place.

Planning permission for the replacement bank was approved in 1992. The property was never re-listed.

Prior to the closure in 2021, the bank said: “The way that customers are banking at the Ballymena branch has changed.

“The number of over-the-counter transactions has reduced by 56% in the past four years and the number of visits to the branch have fallen. 64% of customers at the branch are now digitally active, carrying out their everydaybanking online or using the app.

“Eight per cent of our customers make over-the-counter transactions and do not use online banking.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter