Meeting House Mews takes next step as full plans lodged for 74 Ballymena town centre homes
CGI of Church Street, Ballymena showing a preliminary design of a new apartment complex, including ground floor retail space.
(Image: ©Love Ballymena)
Tuesday 03 November 2026
A major regeneration scheme in the heart of Ballymena has taken its next significant step, with a full planning application now lodged for 74 new homes, retained shops and a community hub at Church Street and Meeting House Lane.
The application for Meeting House Mews follows the public consultation highlighted by Love Ballymena in September, when emerging proposals envisaged 79 apartments alongside refurbished commercial premises, new community space and a landscaped connection through the town centre.
Those plans have now progressed from pre-application consultation to the formal planning system — and the submitted scheme contains five fewer homes than the version presented to the public.
From consultation to full planning application
The move marks an important change in the status of the project. September’s exercise was a pre-application consultation, giving residents, businesses and other stakeholders an opportunity to consider and comment on the emerging proposals before a full application was made.
That stage has now concluded and a full planning application, reference LA02/2026/0747/F, has been submitted for the site at 83–111 Church Street, Ballymena. The application was received on 8 October and validated on 13 October.
Overall massing of proposed town centre development on Chirch Street, Ballymena
The formal proposal seeks permission to retain existing retail Units 2–6 on Church Street and change the use of Unit 1 to a community hub. Existing storage buildings would be demolished, with new residential accommodation constructed above the retained premises and a separate new residential block also developed.
In total, the application proposes 74 residential units together with associated amenity space, hard and soft landscaping, cycle storage and other site works.
Homes reduced from 79 to 74
CGI view of Meeting House Lane, Ballymena showing a preliminary design of a new apartment complex..
(Image: ©Love Ballymena)
One of the most notable changes since the public consultation is the reduction in the number of homes proposed.
When Love Ballymena first reported on the detailed Meeting House Mews consultation in September, the scheme comprised 79 apartments — 21 one-bedroom, 57 two-bedroom and one three-bedroom home.
The submitted full planning application now proposes 74 homes, a reduction of five. The application is accompanied by detailed plans and supporting documents which will allow the council to assess the final scheme.
It represents a further evolution of the project. An earlier Proposal of Application Notice received by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council on 10 July had referred to a development of around 91 residential units before the proposals were developed into the 79-home scheme subsequently put out for public consultation.
How the plans have evolved
The progression has therefore seen the residential element move from around 91 homes at the initial PAN stage, to 79 during the detailed public consultation and now 74 in the full planning application.
A Proposal of Application Notice, commonly known as a PAN, is required for certain major developments before a full planning application can be submitted. It sets out the proposed development and arrangements for consulting the community, allowing engagement to take place while plans are still being developed. A PAN is not planning permission.
Council planning officers determined the Meeting House Mews PAN to be acceptable, allowing the pre-application community consultation process to progress. That was followed by the September consultation on the 79-home scheme before the project team moved to the current full application.
A Pre-Application Community Consultation Report has now been submitted among the documents supporting the application, recording the consultation undertaken before the plans entered the formal decision-making process.
Regenerating an underused town centre site
The development centres on a vacant former foodstore, storage and service areas and other underused land behind the established Church Street frontage.
During consultation, the project was presented as an opportunity to bring long-term use and investment to the site while retaining commercial premises along Church Street and increasing the number of people living in the town centre.
The earlier plans included four retained and refurbished Church Street retail units providing approximately 260sqm of commercial floorspace, alongside a dedicated 75sqm community hub. The formal application now specifically proposes retaining Units 2–6 as retail premises and changing Unit 1 to community-hub use.
The applicant has argued that additional town-centre residents could generate greater activity and footfall for existing businesses, with homes located within walking distance of shops, services, leisure facilities and public transport.
Landscaped space and pedestrian connections
Proposed ground floor plan for town centre development on Chirch Street, Ballymena
Proposed first and second floor plan for town centre development on Chirch Street, Ballymena
Proposed third floor plan for town centre development on Chirch Street, Ballymena
Proposed roof plan for town centre development on Chirch Street, Ballymena
The consultation proposals also envisaged a landscaped mews designed to improve the pedestrian connection between Church Street and Meeting House Lane, incorporating planting, seating and shared amenity space.
Amenity space, hard and soft landscaping and cycle storage remain explicitly included within the description of the development now submitted for planning permission.
The scheme also sits close to important elements of Ballymena’s built heritage. The consultation design sought to respond to the surrounding character, including First Ballymena Presbyterian Church and St Patrick’s Tower, through its building heights, massing and choice of materials.
How the final development affects those surroundings will now form part of the formal planning assessment rather than remaining an issue considered solely through the applicant’s consultation exercise.
Parking among issues now facing scrutiny
CGI of Meeting House Mews, Ballymena showing a preliminary design of a new apartment complex, viewed from First Ballymena Church on Meeting House Lane
.(Image: ©Love Ballymena)
Parking was one of the more striking aspects of the 79-home consultation scheme, which was presented as a “zero-parking solution” apart from two disabled parking bays.
At the time, the project team pointed to the site’s central location, proximity to public transport and surrounding parking provision, while proposing measures intended to encourage more sustainable forms of travel.
The full application is accompanied by transport-related documents including a Transport Assessment Form, Parking Audit and Framework Travel Plan. These will allow the proposed arrangements to be examined as part of the council’s consideration of the development.
Supporting material submitted with the application also addresses matters including drainage and flood risk, archaeology, biodiversity and bats, acoustics, air quality, landscaping, waste and servicing.
Community hub carried into submitted plans
The community element highlighted during the earlier consultation has also survived the transition into the formal application.
Access plan for for proposed town centre development on Chirch Street, Ballymena
The submitted development description proposes changing the use of Unit 1 to a community hub, while retaining Units 2–6 for retail use. During consultation, a dedicated 75sqm hub was proposed, with its eventual use to be shaped through local engagement.
The inclusion of the hub means the development remains a mixed-use proposal rather than a solely residential scheme, combining new homes with retained town-centre commercial premises and dedicated community space.
Plans now enter formal council assessment
CGI of Meeting House Mews, Ballymena showing a preliminary design of a new apartment complex, viewed from First Ballymena Church on Meeting House Lane
The crucial change for local residents is that Meeting House Mews is no longer simply an emerging proposal on which the developer is seeking pre-application feedback. It is now a live full planning application before Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
The application is currently recorded at consultation stage. Council planners and relevant consultees will consider the plans and supporting technical information before the application progresses towards a recommendation and eventual planning decision.
The move brings the proposed redevelopment of this prominent part of central Ballymena a significant step closer to a decision. Attention will now turn to whether the 74-home scheme can satisfy planners on issues including its scale and design, parking and traffic, drainage, residential amenity and impact on nearby heritage — and ultimately whether Meeting House Mews secures the permission needed to move from plans on paper towards delivery.
