Over 300 new homes built in Mid and East Antrim, but housing growth slows

More than 300 new homes were built across Mid and East Antrim during the last financial year, according to the Housing Land Availability Report 2025.

The report, which covers the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, was recently presented to a meeting of the borough council’s Planning Committee.

An annual survey is conducted in the borough’s settlements to monitor housing development. The findings help inform the Local Development Plan regarding land allocation for housing and assess the potential for further expansion of settlements.

The report noted that 314 dwellings were constructed in the borough during the 12-month period. Of these, 66 per cent were built in the three main towns of Larne, Carrickfergus, and Ballymena, with a combined total of 210 homes—down from 392 in 2023/24.

Carrickfergus recorded the largest decline, from 255 units to just 80. Ballymena saw a slight drop, from 103 to 94 homes. Larne recorded a modest rise, with 36 completions compared to 34 the previous year.

In other parts of the borough during 2024/25:

• Greenisland saw 18 new homes,

• Whitehead five,

• Cullybackey three,

• Ahoghill two,

• Cargan 27,

• Portglenone 26,

• Ballycarry 11,

• Kells and Connor nine,

• Carnlough four,

• and Glenarm one.

In total, construction took place on almost 13 hectares of land. The housing monitor estimates that there remains potential for a further 6,673 new homes across the borough, spread over nearly 286 hectares of available land.

Speaking at the Planning Committee meeting, Principal Planning Officer Sandra Adams said:

“There is significant remaining potential in each of the three main towns.”

It is estimated that Ballymena has the capacity for 1,794 new homes, Carrickfergus 1,872, and Larne 1,850.

However, Knockagh Alliance Councillor Aaron Skinner raised concerns over infrastructure limitations, stating:

“There is an awful lot of housing that we could have in Mid and East Antrim but currently don’t have due to water infrastructure.”

In response to a query from Bannside DUP Alderman Tom Gordon, the officer added:

“There is still availability within the majority of the small towns, villages, and smaller settlements.

“In the smaller settlements, there were no units completed over the past year, but there is still capacity. There are two or three settlements where capacity is pretty limited in terms of being able to accommodate additional units.”