Portglenone Marina scheme - meeting may ‘hamper funds’

FEARS have been expressed by councillors that the holding of a Planning Office meeting for people opposed to a new development at Portglenone Marina could jeopardise grant funding for the scheme.

Their comments came at the Council committee meeting with planners in The Braid on February 2, when the application by Ballymena Borough Council was presented by the Department as ‘an approval’.

The proposal, which centres on land adjacent to Portglenone Marina and Portglenone Community Centre on the Gortgole Road, involves provision of a new building to service the existing marina, including toilets, wet changing, community rescue control room, drying room, social area, public toilets, car parking, motor home facilities, canoe Stores, children’s play area, tiered seating, community events space, grass events area, hard surfacing, tree and shrub planing, amenity lighting and CCTV.

Planner, Ms Cathy McKeary pointed out that the application had initially received one letter of objection but that two more had since been received and explained that their main concerns were over loss of amenity and privacy.

While Cllr Roy Gillespie successfully called for an office meeting for the objectors, a number of councillors including Paul Frew and Declan O’Loan expressed fears that, given the tight timescale required for grant funding to be secured for the scheme, such a meeting could put funding in jeopardy.

“This is a very important development which has been years in the coming and which would be of great community benefit - it is important that it goes ahead,” said Mr O’Loan.

Cllr Frew said that while he ‘100% upheld the right of the objectors to have a meeting’, there was a danger that grant funding could be lost given planning permission needed to be confirmed within a certain timeframe.

Ms McKeary’s subsequent suggestion that a meeting for objectors be arranged for the following week was agreed to by councillors.