Up to £110,000 to be spent at County Hall ahead of planned disposal as Academy House refurbishment moves forward

County Hall, Ballymena

Wednesday 28 October 2026

Up to £110,000 is expected to be spent preparing County Hall in Ballymena to accommodate civil servants temporarily, even though the government plans to dispose of the building once a major refurbishment of Academy House is completed.

The Department of Finance wants to modernise Academy House on Broughshane Street and make it the long-term base for civil servants currently working across both Ballymena government buildings.

However, before that can happen, staff based at Academy House must temporarily relocate to County Hall while their offices are refurbished. Once the project is completed, they will move back to Academy House, allowing County Hall to be released for disposal.

The cost of preparing County Hall for this temporary use has prompted questions from North Antrim MP Jim Allister, who has challenged whether spending public money on a building earmarked for closure represents value for taxpayers.

Up to £110,000 in temporary works

In correspondence dated 26 October 2026, the Department of Finance confirmed that preparatory works at County Hall include the installation of power and data infrastructure and the creation of a temporary veterinary laboratory, at an approximate cost of £50,000.

A further £50,000 to £60,000 is expected to be spent replacing a basement lift used to transport goods, equipment and files between the building and its storage facilities.

The department explained that the lift needs to be functioning and dependable to support the relocation arrangements, including the movement of staff and equipment into County Hall and their subsequent return to Academy House.

Together, the works are expected to cost between £100,000 and £110,000, despite County Hall not forming part of the government's preferred long-term accommodation arrangements in Ballymena.

The department's position is that the temporary works are necessary to facilitate the wider refurbishment project, while Mr Allister has questioned whether the expenditure is proportionate given the building's planned disposal.

Academy House to become main government office

The Department of Finance has reviewed its office accommodation in Ballymena, with a fully refurbished Academy House identified as the preferred location for consolidating a number of Northern Ireland Civil Service staff.

In a written Assembly answer on 3 February 2026, the department confirmed that the business case for the consolidation had been approved.

It said the refurbished building would provide modern office accommodation designed to support hybrid working, bringing together civil servants currently based at Academy House and County Hall.

The department also confirmed that organisations occupying County Hall which are not part of the Civil Service would be responsible for progressing their own future accommodation arrangements.

The plans therefore involve more than refurbishing one office building. They would bring government staff together at Academy House and remove County Hall from the department's longer-term property requirements.

Completion date moves from 2029 to 2030

The latest correspondence also indicates a change to the anticipated completion timetable.

In February, the Department of Finance told the Northern Ireland Assembly that the project was expected to begin in late 2026 and be completed in 2029.

However, its letter to Mr Allister, dated 26 October, now gives 2030 as the expected completion year.

The correspondence does not explain the reason for the revised timetable or provide an updated start date for the Academy House refurbishment.

In his original letter of 21 September, Mr Allister said he understood that staff had been advised County Hall could be vacated by 2028, despite works already being undertaken at the building.

The department's latest response does not provide a detailed timetable for individual staff relocations or clarify how the previously reported 2028 date relates to the revised project completion target.

Allister questions value for public money

North Antrim MP Jim Allister

Responding to the department's confirmation, Mr Allister raised concerns about the expenditure and the uncertainty surrounding County Hall's future.

“This response confirms that County Hall is ultimately destined for disposal, yet significant sums of public money are now being spent on a building which is earmarked for closure. While officials have set out the reasons for these works, taxpayers will rightly question whether this represents the best use of public funds.”

The North Antrim MP also called for greater clarity for employees affected by the accommodation changes.

“Given the uncertainty which has surrounded the future of County Hall, it is important that staff are kept fully informed throughout this process and that every effort is made to secure value for money.”

He added:

“I will continue to monitor the situation and seek assurances that expenditure is both necessary and proportionate.”

Hundreds of staff affected by accommodation plans

The scale of the changes was outlined in a separate Assembly response in November 2025, when the Department of Finance confirmed that 254 staff from four government departments were based at County Hall as of 30 June that year.

The breakdown was:

• Department of Health – 149 staff

• Department for Infrastructure – 67 staff

• Department for Communities – 34 staff

• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs – 4 staff

These figures relate to County Hall alone and do not include staff based at Academy House.

The department has said that affected employees have been informed of the accommodation proposals and that trade unions have been advised. Its latest correspondence also refers to consultation through departmental accommodation officers and the established Whitley arrangements between management and staff representatives.

Future of County Hall remains uncertain

County Hall, on Galgorm Road, has been used for public administration for decades, having originally served as the headquarters of the former Antrim County Council.

Although the Department of Finance has confirmed its intention to dispose of the property once the accommodation project is completed, it has not provided a disposal date or outlined proposals for the building's future use.

The latest correspondence also does not disclose the overall budget for the Academy House refurbishment or explain the change in its expected completion year.

For civil servants, the proposals mean a period of temporary relocation before staff are brought together in modernised accommodation. For Ballymena, they also raise questions about the longer-term future of a prominent government building and the services currently based there.

With the completion target now extending to 2030, the key outstanding issues are the final cost and timetable of the refurbishment, the value of the temporary investment at County Hall and what will become of the Galgorm Road property once it is no longer needed for government offices.