NEWS

Sunday 25 October 2026 Households across Northern Ireland are being urged to stay alert to bogus callers as darker evenings approach, with NI Water reminding residents never to allow anyone into their home without first checking their identity. The utility company has issued fresh advice on how to recognise genuine employees, safely check identification and use a police verification service if someone arrives unexpectedly claiming to be from NI Water, Water Service or the Wat

Saturday 17 October 2026 A County Down gas engineer has been jailed for six months after carrying out illegal gas work at a Belfast property despite being subject to a prohibition notice preventing him from undertaking such work. Ian Campbell, trading as M.G.B Gas and Building Services, was sentenced at Laganside Crown Court on Friday 16 October after pleading guilty to three health and safety offences and a separate charge of fraud by misrepresentation. The court heard that

Lauren McGaughey, Openreach NI Director (right), with an Openreach engineer Thursday 15 October 2026 Around 35,000 households and businesses across Northern Ireland still need to move away from the old analogue telephone network before a major switch-off deadline on 31 January 2027, with warnings that medical devices, security alarms and other essential equipment could be affected. With fewer than 15 weeks remaining, Openreach is urging customers to check not only their landl

The scene on the Bridge Street area of Ballymena during the June riots of 2025 Thursday 15 October 2026 Forty-one children never returned to Harryville Primary School following the June 2025 riots in Ballymena, while 90% of surveyed residents who fled the town say they do not intend to return, according to a major new report exposing the devastating human cost of the violence and serious concerns about failures in public services and political leadership. The report reveals t

Pictured are (L-R): Men’s Advisory Project Chief Executive Rhonda Lusty, the Housing Executive’s Steve Anderson, John McCandless, Dixie-Jo McNally, Elaine McMeekin, DCI Colin Neill from the PSNI and Karen Devlin from Women’s Aid NI. Wednesday 14 October 2026 The Northern Ireland Housing Executive is bringing together housing providers, police and specialist support organisations for a week of events aimed at tackling domestic abuse, highlighting its links to homelessness and

Wednesday 07 October 2026 Nine people with learning disabilities and complex needs in Ballymena are enjoying greater independence in their own homes — with the service supporting them now receiving double award recognition just 18 months after opening. Praxis Care’s Ballymena Supported Living Service received both the Co-production Award and CEO Award at the charity’s Annual Staff Awards, recognising an approach designed to give residents greater choice and control over their

Wednesday 7 October 2026 The roll-out of blue recycling bins across Ballymena, Carrickfergus and surrounding areas is scheduled to be completed by 31 July 2027, a Mid and East Antrim Borough Council committee report has revealed. A Performance Improvement Plan presented to a recent meeting of the council’s Corporate Resources Policy and Governance Committee at The Braid in Ballymena sets out the timetable for the change. Blue bins ready to roll Councillors were told the mixed

Waveney Road, Ballymena Monday 28 September 2026 A refusal by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to grant planning permission for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) at 49 Waveney Road, Ballymena, has been overturned by the Planning Appeals Commission. The proposal, involving a change of use from a four-bedroom dwelling to a five-bedroom, five-person HMO, was turned down by the council’s Planning Committee in January. There were 40 objections to the proposal, raising concer

Sunday 27 September 2026 Almost half of Northern Ireland households have never switched electricity supplier, despite a sharp rise in consumers shopping around for a new provider and more than 112,000 domestic customers changing supplier during 2025. New figures from the Utility Regulator show 404,004 domestic electricity customers — 47% of the market — had never moved from the incumbent supplier by the end of last year, although that proportion has fallen from 49% in 2024. T

(L-R): Heloise Brown, Department For Communities, Sandra Hunter, Deputy Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Council, new tenant Ruari Morgan, Chief Executive of Rural Housing Association, Stephen Fisher, Chair of Rural Housing Association, Tom Potter, and Pamela Johnston, Northern Ireland Housing Executive Rural Unit. (All photos: Declan Roughan / Press Eye) Saturday 26 September 2026 Ten new social homes have officially opened on Rathlin Island, delivering a significant boost

Thursday 17 September 2026 Around 860,000 households across Northern Ireland will receive £63 off their electricity costs from 6 October, with support applied automatically to bill-paying and keypad customers. The Household Electricity Discount Scheme is not means-tested and the amount does not depend on how much electricity a household uses. No application is needed. For pre-pay and keypad customers, there is an important detail: anyone wanting the full £63 credit in one go

CGI image of how the new development could transform the streetscape in Ballymena town centre. Final design drawings with a full planning permission application have not yet been submitted. Image: © Love Ballymena 2026 Plans for a major redevelopment in the heart of Ballymena have been unveiled, proposing 79 new apartments alongside refurbished Church Street shops, a community hub and a landscaped pedestrian route through the town centre. The emerging “Meeting House Mews” sch

Hundreds of heating oil customers are set to receive compensation after suppliers cancelled orders as prices surged following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) intervened amid concerns that some cancellations may have breached customers’ contracts, leaving households facing substantially higher costs to secure replacement fuel — or, in some cases, going without heating oil altogether. Around 800 affected customers have al

Waveney Road and Clonavon Terrace in Ballymena Residents across Harryville and Clonavon are being encouraged to put their homes forward for a new competition celebrating the everyday efforts helping to improve both neighbourhoods. The Harryville and Clonavon Best Kept Property Competition offers cash prizes of up to £100, with judging due to take place from Monday 14 to Friday 18 September 2026. Small efforts can make a difference Organisers have stressed that entrants do not

A typical Share Energy customer will face an extra £129 a year in electricity costs after the supplier confirmed a 12.6% increase in its standard 24-hour tariff from 1 October 2026. The estimated annual increase applies to both credit and prepayment customers. The Consumer Council described the rise as “very unwelcome news” for around 41,000 Share Energy consumers. Customers struggling to pay their bills or top up their meters are being urged to contact their supplier for hel

Households using Firmus Energy gas in parts of the Ballymena area are facing another increase in their energy costs this autumn, with the regulated tariff set to rise by 8.98% from 1 October. The increase will add around £87 a year to the gas bill of a typical household customer and comes only three months after Firmus Energy’s regulated Ten Towns tariff increased by 15.7% in July. For a typical customer, the latest change will take the estimated annual gas bill to around £1,

Pictured (L-R) is Paula McIntyre, Pamela Minford (Castle Mall centre manager), Shona Burke (Head of Customer Service Operations at Choice) and Robin Swann MP. Families from Stiles Way in Antrim picked up ideas for making nutritious meals on a budget during a community cooking event with television chef Paula McIntyre. The demonstration, organised by Choice Housing as part of Shared Housing Week, focused on affordable, hearty food and practical advice residents could use in t

Pictured at the Housing Centre’s own beehives in Belfast are the Housing Executive’s (L/R) Robert McClean, Stephen Lowry, Jennifer Hawthorne, Ronnie McCreanor and Conor McCombe. The Housing Executive is changing how it manages some of its green spaces across Northern Ireland, with reduced grass cutting, new wildflower areas and thousands of trees being planted each year as part of efforts to support bees and other pollinators. The organisation has become an official partner o

Raymond Gormley, Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, Fiona Magee, Advice NI, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, Nicole Lappin, Chair NIHE and David Blevings, Northern Ireland Oil Federation Around 340,000 households across Northern Ireland could be eligible for a new £100 payment towards the cost of home heating oil, with applications opening next month. The Home Heating Oil Support Scheme will open on Wednesday 9 September 2026, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has confi

Households across Northern Ireland are expected to receive more than £50 off their electricity bills this autumn, under plans to combine two cost-of-living measures into a single discount. Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has confirmed her department is working to finalise an agreement with the Treasury that would increase the support from the approximately £30 previously announced under the NIRO Domestic Electricity Discount Scheme. However, the original discount had be