NEWS

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. 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” scheme is being brought forward

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

Pictured (L-R) is Deirdre Steele (Group Head of Maple and May), Chris McGrath (Head of Legal Services), Shona Burke (Head of Customer Service Operations), Ken Ryan (Head of Facilities Management) and Leeanne Magee (Regional Head of Tenant and Client Services). One of Northern Ireland’s largest social housing providers has expanded its senior leadership team from 13 to 18 people as it prepares for further growth in housing, tenant services and its private rental business. Choi

Residents from Abbeyfield & Wesley’s Ballymena house kicks off festivities as the housing association, built on companionship and community, marks 70 years of ‘family-style’ living with celebrations across Northern Ireland. A pioneering approach to housing which has helped generations of older people remain independent while enjoying companionship and a sense of family is marking its 70th anniversary — with the celebrations beginning in Ballymena. More than 50 residents, rela

St Patrick’s housing development in Ballymena A new community hub bringing health, welfare, housing and policing support directly to residents of Ballymena’s St Patrick’s development will officially open this week. Radius Housing will launch the new St Patrick’s Community Hub on Thursday 13 August, creating a dedicated space within the 135-home development where tenants can access regular advice clinics and community services close to home. The Hub has been developed followin

Site plan for proposed 37 home development in Toomebridge, refused by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Tuesday, 4 August 2026 A proposed residential development of 37 new homes at Loughview Drive in Toomebridge has been refused planning permission by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Planning Committee following significant local opposition, including 176 objections. The application sought permission for nine detached houses, 18 semi-detached houses and 10 apar

Site for proposed apartments complex on Springwell Street, Ballymena Plans for a nine-apartment development at Fountain Place in Ballymena have been refused by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council over concerns about privacy, overlooking and the quality of accommodation for future residents. The application sought permission to demolish an existing dwelling and outbuildings at 23 Fountain Place and replace them with a development of nine apartments. Access to the site would ha

A total of 260 new homes were completed across Mid and East Antrim during the financial year from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, according to a new council report. Presented to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Planning Committee at The Braid in Ballymena on Thursday, the Housing Land Availability Report shows Ballymena accounted for 41 per cent of all new homes completed during the year, ahead of Carrickfergus (13 per cent) and Larne (almost 12 per cent). The report also

CGI showing elevations of approved plans to create 19 town centre apartments at a historic former bank building in Ballymena. Planning permission has been granted to transform a historic former bank building in Ballymena town centre into 19 apartments. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved the application at a meeting in The Braid on Thursday morning. The proposal will see the partial demolition of the building at 97 Mill Street, alongside its ada

Inset: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Households in Northern Ireland are set to receive financial support with electricity costs this winter after the UK Government announced plans to remove VAT from domestic electricity bills across Great Britain from 1 October. Because of post-Brexit VAT arrangements, the tax change cannot automatically apply in Northern Ireland, meaning the Northern Ireland Executive will instead receive comparable funding to ensure local households benefi

The scenes on Thursday when a fight broke out among a number of men in a Ballymena housing estate. A street fight involving weapons in one of Ballymena’s newest housing developments has led to three arrests, after an incident that unfolded while children were playing nearby prompted renewed concern from local residents about ongoing antisocial behaviour in the area. Witnesses described seeing a number of men involved in a violent confrontation in St Patrick’s Place at around

The array of solar panels positioned on the roof of Causeway Hospital in Coleraine Causeway Hospital has saved almost £142,000 on electricity costs in the first year since installing Northern Ireland’s largest solar roof on a Health and Social Care building, according to the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. The hospital’s 2,300 rooftop solar panels generated enough renewable electricity during 2025-26 to offset electricity costs by around £141,700, while also preventing

Households across Northern Ireland who rely on home heating oil could benefit from stronger consumer protections after the UK’s competition watchdog called for new regulations to better safeguard customers during periods of price volatility. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recommended that the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive introduce a new regulatory framework for the heating oil sector, arguing that the current system leaves around 1.5 million U