Council given 14 days to reconsider environmental ruling on IFA’s Galgorm football centre

(Left – right) Dr Martin Lester (acoustics / noise expert), Ryan Colton (architect), Sarah Herbison (local resident and key figure in the Right Facility, Wrong Location campaign), Liam Vallely (legal expert), Una Somerville (planning consultant), John Herbison (local resident), Andrew Ryan (partner TLT solicitors). The group was pictured at a public meeting held by the campaign group on Thursday evening in Ballymena. The meeting provided an update on the work of the campaign group and offered residents the opportunity to have their say on the IFA’s proposals.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has been given 14 days to reconsider its environmental assessment of the proposed Irish FA National Football Centre at Galgorm before two residents move to seek a judicial review.

Sarah and John Herbison, who live on Ballymena Road, have instructed solicitors to send a pre-action letter challenging the council’s determination that the major development does not require an Environmental Statement.

The legal action has not yet reached court and does not directly challenge whether planning permission should ultimately be granted. It concerns the process used to decide how closely the proposal’s potential environmental effects must be examined.

Residents challenge council’s screening decision

Mrs Herbison, a leading figure in the Right Facility, Wrong Location campaign, and her husband argue that a development of this scale should be treated as Environmental Impact Assessment development.

Their letter claims that even technical advisers acting for the applicant had previously accepted that the proposal was “EIA Development” requiring an Environmental Statement as part of the planning application.

However, it says Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has twice concluded through its screening process that such an assessment is not required.

The residents’ solicitors argue:

“Indeed, the very idea that a twenty-two hectare site in the open countryside being developed for a national football training centre with six football pitches capable of accommodating thousands of people does not constitute EIA development is, on its very face, an absurd proposition.”

That is the position being advanced by the Herbisons and has not yet been tested or determined by a court.

What the council is being asked to do

Local residents and key figures in the Right Facility, Wrong Location campaign, Sarah and John Herbison, pictured at a public meeting held by the campaign group on Thursday evening in Ballymena. The meeting provided an update on the work of the campaign group and offered residents the opportunity to have their say on the IFA’s proposals.

The pre-action letter gives the council 14 days to reconsider its determination. If that does not happen, the Herbisons say they intend to apply for judicial review.

Judicial review would examine whether the council reached its environmental determination lawfully and followed the correct process. It would not ask the court to decide the wider planning merits of the football centre.

The letter concludes:

“Council has an opportunity now to reflect on its conduct and to take steps to avoid unnecessary and costly litigation at an early stage of its processing of this application which will only serve to undermine public confidence and trust.

“All that is asked is that the Council properly discharges its obligations under the Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 by subjecting this application to the scrutiny it properly demands.”

The planning application remains under consideration and no final decision has been made on whether the centre should receive permission.

Six pitches, floodlights and spectator stands

The full planning application, reference LA02/2026/0169/F, covers approximately 22 hectares around 125 Fenaghy Road, between Galgorm and Cullybackey.

The site is bounded by Fenaghy Road to the south and the railway line to the north.

The proposed National Football Centre would contain six pitches—five outdoor and one indoor. Three would have hybrid surfaces, three would be artificial and three would be floodlit.

One pitch would be designated for community use. Another would have two spectator stands seating 1,100 and 500 people, while a further pitch would have a 500-seat stand.

Plans also include a two-storey building containing training, changing, medical, catering, administration and media facilities.

A separate community pitch building, photovoltaic panels, internal roads, lighting, fencing, parking, landscaping and new accesses from Fenaghy Road also form part of the proposal.

The Irish FA formally submitted the application in April, describing the centre as a long-term investment intended to support elite, grassroots and community football. It says Northern Ireland remains one of a small number of UEFA nations without a dedicated national football centre. Irish FA planning announcement⁠

What an Environmental Statement would examine

An Environmental Impact Assessment is a formal process used when a development may have significant effects on the environment.

An Environmental Statement is prepared by the applicant and examines those likely effects in detail, together with measures intended to prevent, reduce or offset environmental harm.

Whether the proposed centre legally requires that level of assessment is now at the centre of the threatened court challenge.

Campaign raises traffic and environmental concerns

The Right Facility, Wrong Location campaign supports the principle of creating a National Football Centre but maintains that the Galgorm countryside site is unsuitable.

It has raised concerns about traffic on Fenaghy Road, noise, floodlighting, the loss of countryside and the potential effect on wildlife and nearby properties.

Local residents, businesses and organisations have lodged objections through the planning portal. These include Galgorm Parks Riding School and Riding for the Disabled.

The Irish FA, meanwhile, says the development would provide a dedicated home for Northern Ireland’s senior and underage men’s and women’s teams while also supporting grassroots players, schools and community activities.

Residents can still submit representations

Although the published neighbour consultation period has passed, the council’s planning office has previously confirmed that representations can continue to be accepted until the application is determined.

The application and supporting documents can be viewed here.

Further details about the opposition campaign are available here.

The council’s response during the 14-day period will determine whether the dispute can be resolved at this stage or moves into formal judicial review proceedings—potentially placing the environmental screening decision before the High Court while the wider planning application remains undecided.