NEWS

Tuesday 06 October 2026 Students are being offered a night of exclusive discounts, competitions, giveaways and entertainment today as Victoria Square brings back its popular Student Social. The event which runs from 4pm to 7pm will combine one-night-only savings across fashion, food, beauty and more with interactive challenges giving students the chance to walk away with prizes. Student ID will be required to access the offers. Five minutes to spend £100 Among the headline at

The newly launched Women’s Aid shop in Ballymena Monday 05 October 2026 Women’s Aid has officially opened a new shop in Ballymena, giving local people another way to support its work with women and children experiencing domestic abuse. The new store at 23–25 Henry Street will sell new and nearly new women’s clothing and accessories alongside books, furniture and other donated items, with proceeds helping support the charity’s services. New town centre shop Mayor of Mid and Ea

Saturday 03 October 2026 Gruffalo Granny by Julia Donaldson has taken the number one spot at Waterstone’s Ballymena, as the store celebrates the completion of its refit and welcomes readers in to discover its refreshed look. Rebecca Yarros’ Threshing Day enters the chart at number two following its release, while last week’s bestseller, Charles Spencer’s Swan Song, remains popular in third place. The latest Top 10 offers an especially atmospheric selection for autumn, with ho

Saturday 26 September 2026 Charles Spencer has taken the number one spot at Waterstone’s Ballymena with Swan Song, heading a particularly family-friendly Top 10 which sees three books by Julia Donaldson make the chart. The newly released Gruffalo Granny takes second place, followed by another Donaldson favourite, Monkey Puzzle, at number three — while The Gruffalo’s Child also features at number seven. Elsewhere, Lee Child and Richard Osman continue to prove popular with Ball

Taylor Kirk,Ballyclare, models Frasers and Levi's at Platform 26, Victoria Square Sunday 27 September 2026 County Antrim modelling talent stepped into the spotlight at Victoria Square as three local models took to the runway for the Belfast shopping destination’s latest Autumn/Winter fashion showcase. Cooper Dudley-Fergus from Ballymoney, Meagan Green from Lisburn and Taylor Kirk from Ballyclare were among the models showcasing new-season looks at Platform 26 on Friday 25 Sep

Site for Lidl’s proposed new concept store in Ballymena Thursday 24 September 2026 Plans for one of Northern Ireland’s largest Lidl stores have come under fresh scrutiny after independent retail experts said they are not yet satisfied that the need for the major Ballymena development has been demonstrated — or that it would avoid significant adverse impacts on the town centre. The findings are contained in a detailed independent Retail Audit commissioned by Mid and East Antri

Saturday 19 September 2026 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans has returned to the top of the bestseller chart at Waterstone’s Ballymena, leading a crime-heavy Top 10 featuring some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction. Ann Cleeves takes second place with The Killing Stones, while Patrick Ryan’s Buckeye climbs into the top three ahead of Lyra Parish’s Fall I Want. The latest update also brings two half-price offers, details of the next Saturday Storytime and Fiction B

The newly launched M&S Too Good To Go bakery Surprise Bags Tuesday 15 September 2026 M&S Ballymena shoppers can now pick up more than £10 worth of surplus bakery products for £3.80 as the retailer launches a new partnership with Too Good To Go across Northern Ireland. The Ballymena store is one of 13 M&S Food locations taking part, with Surprise Bags containing three to four products from its in-store bakery that would otherwise be left unsold at the end of the day. Customers

Denny Smoked and Unsmoked Bacon Rashers, Carved Ham Slices and Carved Wafer Thin Ham Slices. Bacon made without nitrites is being introduced to Northern Ireland supermarket shelves as Denny launches a four-product range, with ham slices due to follow in October. The rollout began with smoked and unsmoked bacon rashers in Musgrave stores on Saturday 12 September. Both products are scheduled to reach Tesco stores in Northern Ireland on Monday 21 September. Carved Ham Slices and

One in four Northern Ireland shoppers had already started buying for Christmas by the middle of August, almost double the UK average, as households look to spread the cost of the festive season. New research from PwC shows Northern Ireland is leading the UK for early Christmas shopping, but the head start comes against a much tougher financial backdrop, with only three in ten local adults describing their household finances as “healthy”. The findings suggest many shoppers are

Crime fiction has taken the top spot at Waterstone’s Ballymena this week, with Ann Cleeves’ The Killing Stones leading a varied bestseller chart featuring thrillers, historical fiction, romance, fantasy and non-fiction. Lyse Doucet’s The Finest Hotel in Kabul takes second place, while Robert Harris’ Agrippa completes the top three. Elsewhere, readers are picking up titles from Lee Child, Virginia Evans, William Boyd, Pierce Brown and Richard Osman. There is also plenty arrivi

Photos from 2025 Fashion Show, featuring local models and professional models from ACA Modelling Agency. ACA will be partnering with organisers again for this year’s show. Ballymena’s Autumn/Winter Fashion Show is returning for a fourth year next month, promising a night of new-season style, live music and entertainment following a sell-out event in 2025. The popular annual event will take over The Braid on Friday 9 October, bringing independent boutiques and high street reta

Northern Ireland’s lowest-earning households are being left with an average of just £53.17 a week after taxes and basic household spending, new research has revealed. The latest Northern Ireland Household Expenditure Tracker from the Consumer Council shows some improvement in household finances at the beginning of 2026 — but spending power remains dramatically below where it was five years ago. For the lowest-income quarter of households, discretionary income has fallen by 35

Tesco has been urged to include Northern Ireland customers in future fuel promotions after shoppers here were excluded from a 5% offer available across Great Britain. Ulster Unionist Party leader and North Antrim MLA Jon Burrows has written directly to Tesco’s Chief Executive over the issue, arguing that customers in Northern Ireland should not be left at a disadvantage when major UK retailers launch promotions. The intervention follows an earlier complaint which resulted in

Women’s Aid Retail Manager, Michelle McIlwrath , Director of Finance Karen McConkey and CEO, Gillian Robinson. (Images: Danielle Kernohan Photography) A new Women’s Aid shop has opened in Ballymena, with every purchase helping to fund specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic abuse in the local area. The new premises at 23–25 Henry Street are the third retail outlet operated by Women’s Aid ABCLN and will also provide a place where women can access inform

Saturday 5 September 2026 Historical fiction, psychological thrillers and major new non-fiction titles are among the books attracting readers at Waterstone’s Ballymena this week, with Tarot Reader of Versailles by Anya Bergman taking the number one spot in the latest Top 10. Alice Feeney’s My Husband’s Wife takes second place, followed by John Grisham’s The Widow, while familiar favourites from Joanna Miller, Alex Michaelides, Sabine Durrant and Kristin Hannah also feature. T

CGI of the proposed new 12,300 sq. ft JD Sports store at Fairhill Shopping Centre Tuesday 1 September 2026 JD Sports is to relocate within Ballymena’s Fairhill Shopping Centre after exchanging contracts for a new 12,300 sq ft store. The sportswear and footwear retailer will move from its existing Fairhill shop into a newly formed unit occupying a prominent corner location within the centre. The agreement secures JD Sports’ continued presence at Fairhill and marks another ste

Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent has returned to the top of the bestseller chart at Waterstone’s Ballymena, leading a varied Top 10 featuring contemporary fiction, psychological thrillers, historical drama and fantasy. There is a particularly strong showing for female authors this week, with Lily Chen, Joanna Miller, Claire Douglas, Cecelia Ahern, Sabine Durrant, V.E. Schwab, Kristin Hannah and Freida McFadden all securing places alongside Evans. Beyond the chart, there are

The new Paws & Pals collection from M&S M&S has expanded its food aisles to four-legged family members with the launch of a new own-brand range of food, meal toppers and treats for adult dogs and cats. The new Paws & Pals collection is available in M&S Foodhalls now, with prices ranging from £3 for treats to £14 for bags of dry food. The launch brings 13 new products to shelves alongside 10 existing favourites being rebranded under Paws & Pals, as the retailer targets growing

Saturday 22 August 2026 Crime and thriller heavyweights dominate the latest bestseller chart at Waterstone’s Ballymena, with Lee Child taking the number one spot as John Grisham, Freida McFadden, Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid all feature in this week’s Top 10. There is plenty beyond crime fiction too, with Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent, V.E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, Monisha Rajesh’s Moonlight Express and Stephen Fry’s Odysseyshowing the breadth of read