Major Ballymena town centre plans unveiled for 79 new homes, shops and community hub

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 for the site at 83–111 Church Street and Meeting House Lane, transforming a vacant former foodstore, service yard and other underused town-centre land.

If progressed, the development would represent a significant change for this part of Ballymena, bringing dozens of new residents into the town centre while retaining and investing in its established Church Street commercial frontage.

79 new town centre homes

The plans comprise 79 apartments — 21 one-bedroom, 57 two-bedroom and one three-bedroom home — within buildings of three and four storeys.

The developer argues that accommodating more people within walking distance of shops, services, leisure facilities and public transport would generate additional activity and footfall for local businesses and help strengthen both Ballymena’s daytime and night-time economies.

Four existing retail units along Church Street would be retained and refurbished, providing approximately 260sqm of commercial floorspace, while the vacant former foodstore behind the frontage would be demolished to make way for new residential development.

New community hub and landscaped mews

CGI image of how the new development could transform views from the corner of Meeting House Lane outside First Ballymena Chirch. Final design drawings with a full planning permission application have not yet been submitted

A dedicated 75sqm community hub forms part of the proposals, with its eventual use to be shaped through engagement with the local community.

The plans would also create a landscaped mews providing an enhanced pedestrian connection between Church Street and Meeting House Lane, incorporating planting, seating and shared amenity space.

According to the consultation material, the development is intended to rejuvenate the active Church Street frontage, providing modernised premises across retail, commercial and community uses while bringing a long-term sustainable use and new investment to an underused site.

Limited on-site parking

One of the most notable elements of the emerging proposal is its approach to car parking.

Despite the development containing 79 apartments, the consultation material describes it as a “zero-parking solution”, with only two disabled parking bays to be retained.

The developer points to the site’s central location, with shops, services, employment, leisure facilities and public transport within walking and cycling distance, as well as existing parking provision in the surrounding area.

A future planning application is expected to include transport information seeking to demonstrate that sufficient parking is available nearby and outlining measures intended to encourage residents to use sustainable forms of transport.

The parking proposals are likely to be among the issues considered by residents and businesses as part of the current pre-application consultation.

Church Street frontage would remain

Rather than clearing the entire site, the established Church Street frontage would be retained and refurbished, with the proposals seeking to restore activity along this part of the town centre.

The emerging development uses carefully considered building heights, massing and materials intended to respond to the character of Meeting House Lane and surrounding heritage assets, including First Ballymena Presbyterian Church and St Patrick’s Tower.

Landscaping, separation between buildings and the positioning of windows are also expected to be refined alongside assessments covering heritage, townscape, privacy and daylight.

The project team says the scheme has been designed to complement future investment on neighbouring sites and contribute to the wider regeneration of central Ballymena.

Planning process already under way

A Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) for the development at 83-111 Church Street was received by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council on 10 July 2026, marking an early formal stage in the planning process.

A PAN is required for certain major developments before a full planning application can be submitted. It sets out the proposed development and how the applicant intends to consult the community, giving residents and other stakeholders an opportunity to consider and comment on emerging plans before they are finalised. It is not, however, a planning application or an approval of the development itself.

The PAN submitted to the council relates to the reconfiguration of existing retail units at Church Street, the construction of new residential accommodation above them, demolition of storage buildings and the erection of a new residential block with access via Meeting House Lane.

At that stage, the development was described as comprising 91 residential units in total. The scheme has since evolved, with the current public consultation proposing 79 new homes — 21 one-bedroom, 57 two-bedroom and one three-bedroom apartment.

Council planning officers have since determined that the PAN is acceptable, allowing the pre-application community consultation process to progress. A full planning application would still have to be submitted and considered separately before any decision is made on whether the development should receive planning permission.

Public being asked for views

CGI image showing views from Meeting House Lane looking toward First Ballymena Presbyterian Church

The proposals are not yet a submitted planning application and could change following consultation.

A Proposal of Application Notice was submitted to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in July 2026, beginning the pre-application community consultation process.

Feedback from residents, businesses and other stakeholders will be considered alongside design and technical assessments before the plans are finalised, with a full planning application currently expected to be submitted to the council before the end of 2026.

A Pre-Application Community Consultation Report would accompany the application, setting out the feedback received during the consultation and how the project team has considered it.

The public is being invited to comment on the proposed homes, retained shops and community space, as well as the landscaped mews, pedestrian connections and any concerns relating to access, design or amenity.

How to have your say

Feedback must be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday 29 September 2026.

Full project information and the consultation feedback facility are available at www.churchstreetconsultation.co.uk. Residents can also email contact@churchstreetconsultation.co.uk, call Freephone 0808 1688 296, or write to Meeting House Mews Consultation, Turley, Hamilton House, 3 Joy Street, Belfast, BT2 8LE.

Comments made during this stage go to the applicant rather than Mid and East Antrim Borough Council. If a formal planning application is subsequently lodged, members of the public will have a further opportunity to make representations directly to the council.

The consultation will therefore help shape the scheme before it reaches the formal planning process, with the scale of the residential development, its limited on-site parking and impact on surrounding streets balanced against the potential to regenerate underused land, improve pedestrian connections and bring more residents and footfall into the heart of Ballymena.