‘If we cannot get insurance, the riding school cannot operate’: Galgorm owner fears impact of IFA centre

Sara Kyle, owner of Galgorm Parks Riding School

A long-established Ballymena riding school which provides therapeutic riding for disabled children and young people could face an uncertain future if the proposed Irish FA National Football Centre is built nearby, its owner has warned.

Sara Kyle, owner of Galgorm Parks Riding School, says she fears increased noise and activity associated with the major development could affect horses, vulnerable riders and ultimately the viability of a service built up over more than four decades.

Her concerns form one side of an increasingly significant planning debate over the proposed 50-acre National Football Centre at Fenaghy Road — a project which has also attracted substantial support from local schools, businesses, sporting organisations, community groups and elected representatives.

The Irish FA, meanwhile, has said it will continue to listen to concerns, engage constructively and seek to mitigate them where possible as the planning process continues.

‘The transformation has been remarkable’

Galgorm Parks Riding School is used by local riders and has provided facilities for Mid-Antrim Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) for almost 40 years, including therapeutic riding involving children and young people with disabilities.

Sara says the strongest argument for protecting the environment around the school can be seen in the progress made by those who use it.

“I have spent decades building up the riding school and it has become a very special place for many people, including children with severe autism and other disabilities,” she said.

“We see the difference that riding can make. One young person has been coming to us for five years and the transformation in his communication skills has been remarkable. He is now able to ride independently. That progress has taken years of patience, trust and consistency.

“For many autistic children, routine and familiarity are incredibly important. They don’t like sudden change, and the development of a large, busy and noisy National Football Centre right beside the riding school would represent an enormous change to the environment they know and feel comfortable in.”

‘They couldn’t simply go somewhere else’

Aerial views of Galgorm Parks Riding School

Sara believes relocating riders elsewhere would not necessarily provide a straightforward solution because relationships between children, staff, horses and their surroundings can take years to establish.

“It takes a long time to build a relationship with a child, to understand their individual needs and for them to become familiar and comfortable with the horses, the staff and the surroundings,” she said.

“It is simply not the case that these children could easily go somewhere else and pick up where they left off. For some of them, starting again in a completely new environment could be extremely difficult.”

Those concerns have also been raised separately by Lady Juliet Frazer, chair of Mid-Antrim RDA, who has objected to the planning application.

She argues that the quiet environment and experienced ponies at Galgorm Parks are integral to the service and that there is no suitable alternative local facility.

Lady Juliet recently told the BBC that sudden bursts of noise could cause even well-trained ponies to take fright, particularly concerning when carrying a beginner or disabled rider.

What is proposed at Fenaghy Road?

Planning application LA02/2026/0169/F proposes a National Football Centre on approximately 22 hectares — around 50 acres — between Galgorm and Cullybackey.

It would contain six football pitches, five outdoor and one indoor. Three would have hybrid surfaces, three artificial surfaces and three would be floodlit. One would be designated as a community pitch.

Spectator facilities would include one 1,100-seat stand and two 500-seat stands, giving a total proposed capacity of 2,100 seats across the stands.

Plans also include a two-storey multi-purpose building containing training, changing, medical, catering, administration and media facilities, alongside a community pitch building, internal roads, lighting, fencing, parking, landscaping and accesses from Fenaghy Road.

Northern Ireland remains one of a small number of UEFA nations without its own dedicated national football centre, according to the Irish FA.

Noise is already under planning scrutiny

Sara’s concerns about noise are particularly significant because potential noise impacts are already being examined as part of the statutory planning process.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Environmental Health service, in the consultation material supplied to Love Ballymena, identified predicted noise levels which it said showed a likely adverse impact at some surrounding receptors during large-scale events and certain training scenarios.

Environmental Health also sought further clarification about several aspects of the applicant’s noise assessment, including whether the community pitch and training pitches could operate simultaneously and the cumulative effect if they did.

That finding does not establish that noise from the proposed centre would make Galgorm Parks Riding School unsafe or force it to close. It does, however, mean potential noise effects on neighbouring properties are among the issues being considered by planners rather than being solely a concern raised by campaigners.

Environmental Health also identified potential artificial-lighting impacts at two surrounding receptors during certain match-day scenarios, while noting proposed mitigation and operating restrictions.

Horses and rider safety

For Sara, the particular concern is what additional noise could mean when horses and vulnerable riders are brought into the equation.

“Horses are sensitive animals,” she said.

“It doesn’t necessarily take a huge amount of sudden or unexpected noise for a horse to become spooked or to shy. When you are working with children and young people with disabilities, any additional risk of that happening is a very serious concern.”

Again, this is Sara’s assessment of the potential consequences rather than a finding by the planning authority that the proposed centre would make riding at Galgorm Parks unsafe.

‘If we cannot get insurance, the riding school cannot operate’

A further concern raised by Sara is whether a substantial development beside the school could have implications for its insurance.

She stresses that she does not currently know whether its availability or cost would actually be affected.

“One of my biggest concerns is insurance,” she said.

“I genuinely do not know whether we will be able to obtain appropriate insurance, or whether it will remain affordable, if a major National Football Centre is built beside us. If we cannot get insurance, the riding school cannot operate. It is as simple as that.

“That would not just mean the loss of a business that I have spent decades building. It would also mean the loss of a service that dozens of disabled children and young people and their families have come to rely on.”

There is currently no evidence presented to Love Ballymena that the riding school’s insurer has withdrawn cover or indicated that it intends to do so. Sara is raising the possibility as a concern about the potential future consequences of the development.

‘Right facility, wrong location’

Sara has now backed the Right Facility, Wrong Location campaign, which supports the principle of a National Football Centre but opposes building it at the Galgorm site.

The group has raised concerns around traffic and road safety, noise, floodlighting, flooding and drainage, ecology and the effect of a development of this scale on the surrounding countryside.

Campaign spokesperson Sarah Herbison said:

“This is not about being opposed to football or to investment in sporting facilities. It is about whether this is the right location for a development of this scale and intensity.

“This is a quiet rural area with homes, farms, horses and established community uses. A major National Football Centre would fundamentally alter its character and could have very serious unintended consequences for people and services that have been here for decades.

“I believe there needs to be much greater consideration of the impact this development could have here.

“Once the character of an area like this is changed, and once facilities like this are lost, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to put things back the way they were.

“The IFA National Football Centre may be the right facility, but this is absolutely the wrong location.”

But the project also has substantial local support

The riding school’s concerns sit alongside a sizeable body of representations supporting the development.

Of 174 community representations recorded on the online planning application in information reviewed by Love Ballymena, around 110 are in support and 64 are against.

Those figures should not be interpreted as an opinion poll of the wider community — they represent submissions made on the planning application — but they demonstrate the significant level of organised support as well as opposition surrounding the proposal.

Supporters include Wrightbus, Galgorm Resort, Ballymena Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cullybackey Community Partnership, Ballymena United Football Club, Cullybackey Blues FC, Randalstown Rugby Football Club, Netball Northern Ireland and the Northern Amateur Football League.

Backing has also come from a number of schools, including Gracehill Primary School, Ballykeel Primary School, St Brigid’s Primary School, St Colmcille’s Primary School, Buick Memorial Primary School, Ballymena Academy and Slemish College.

Their representations broadly argue that having a national-level sporting facility close to Ballymena could inspire young people, provide opportunities for boys and girls, improve access to sporting facilities and strengthen pathways from grassroots participation through to elite football.

Several schools also highlight what they see as football’s wider contribution to confidence, teamwork, discipline, belonging, physical activity and mental wellbeing, while welcoming the proposed community element of the centre.

Wrightbus highlights potential economic boost

Among the significant recent supporters is Ballymena manufacturer Wrightbus, which has focused particularly on the potential economic consequences for the area.

In its representation, the company argues that, at a time when town centres are facing commercial challenges, investment of this scale could help generate sustained economic activity and increase visitor numbers.

Wrightbus believes construction and operation of the centre could benefit businesses across hospitality, retail, transport and services, helping to support existing employment and create further opportunities.

That economic argument has also been advanced by Galgorm Resort, which has described the project as an opportunity to attract teams, athletes and visitors while increasing Northern Ireland and Mid and East Antrim’s profile internationally.

The Irish FA itself says the centre is intended to support both elite and grassroots football, with a dedicated community pitch among the facilities proposed.

Political support crosses party lines

The proposal has also secured support from political representatives from different parties.

Among those who have submitted or expressed support are North Antrim MP Jim Allister, former North Antrim MP Ian Paisley, North Antrim MLAs Jon Burrows, Timothy Gaston and Paul Frew, East Antrim MLA Stewart Dickson, and Ballymena councillors William McCaughey and Philip Thompson.

North Antrim MLA Jon Burrows argues the project could bring sporting, economic and community benefits while addressing what supporters regard as a shortage of appropriate football facilities.

In his representation, Mr Burrows says the proposed centre could create a sustainable pathway for male and female talent while providing community access and opportunities for coaching, education and training.

He also argues that additional visitors could benefit the local economy and that the centre could help showcase the Ballymena and Mid and East Antrim area to a wider audience.

North Antrim MP Jim Allister has similarly described the proposal as important both locally and across Northern Ireland, while acknowledging that the concerns of objectors are entitled to proper consideration.

Irish FA says it will continue to engage

The Irish FA maintains that Northern Ireland needs a dedicated centre capable of supporting its senior and underage men’s and women’s teams while strengthening grassroots and community football.

Technical Director Aaron Hughes has said the facility would provide Northern Ireland football with a permanent home, raise standards and give young boys and girls the opportunity to follow the same pathway as international players.

And responding recently to concerns surrounding the Galgorm proposal, an Irish FA spokesperson said:

“This project represents a unique opportunity to deliver a world-class facility and a once-in-a-generation investment in football, communities and sporting infrastructure.

“We will continue to listen, engage constructively and mitigate concerns where possible, as the planning process progresses.”

The association has previously said that a range of potential locations was explored before Galgorm was selected as what it considered the most compelling and best-fit option.

Other planning issues remain unresolved

Noise and the impact on the riding school are not the only matters still being examined.

NI Water has recommended refusal at this stage because of water and wastewater network capacity issues, while making clear that potential solutions exist and that its position may be reconsidered following further work.

Information supplied to Love Ballymena shows that Shared Environmental Service has also requested further wastewater information before it can progress its Habitats Regulations Assessment.

DfI Rivers, meanwhile, accepted the logic and conclusions of the applicant’s flood risk assessment in relation to fluvial flooding but requested further information regarding surface-water drainage before it could be demonstrated that those risks would be effectively controlled.

The council has separately determined through its Environmental Impact Assessment screening process that the application does not require an Environmental Statement. That determination is currently disputed by two residents who have threatened judicial review; no court has ruled that the council’s decision was unlawful.

A planning decision still to be made

For planners, the task will ultimately be to weigh the proposed centre’s sporting, economic and community benefits against its potential effects on neighbours, existing businesses, infrastructure and the environment — applying planning policy and the technical evidence rather than deciding the application on the number of supporters or objectors.

No final decision has yet been made. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has said the application remains subject to the assessment and consultation required under planning legislation and that it cannot currently provide a timescale for determination.

For Sara Kyle, however, what can appear on paper as a debate over noise levels, lighting, land use and planning policy comes back to something much more human: the horses, children and young people who have found confidence and familiarity at Galgorm Parks over decades.

Her fear is that something built to create new opportunities for one community could unintentionally take an established opportunity away from another.

Whether those fears can be adequately addressed — while allowing the benefits claimed for a National Football Centre to be realised — is now one of the questions the planning process must resolve.

Love Ballymena has asked the IFA for comment and this article will be updated if comment is offered.