Public to have say on new dog exercise areas in Ballymena and Carrickfergus

A public consultation on proposals for two new dog exercise areas in Mid and East Antrim has been approved by councillors.

The sites identified by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council are at Wilson Crescent in Ballymena and Eden Playing Fields outside Carrickfergus, with the proposals intended to provide secure areas where dogs can exercise off-lead.

However, councillors have raised questions over the locations, parking, potential equipment and safety, while one Ballymena representative has called for a second facility to serve another part of the town.

Plans follow Carnfunnock facility

A dog exercise area opened at Carnfunnock Country Park outside Larne in June 2025 following requests from the community and elected representatives.

It formed part of the £7m refurbishment of the popular visitor attraction and remains available while renovation work elsewhere at the park continues.

The council has now identified two potential locations elsewhere in the borough.

The proposed Carrickfergus site at Eden Playing Fields is protected through Fields in Trust, a charity which works to legally safeguard parks and green spaces for public recreation and prevent their loss to development.

Call for second Ballymena location

Speaking at a meeting of the council’s Neighbourhoods and Communities Committee at The Braid in Ballymena on Tuesday evening, Ballymena Alliance Councillor Jack Gibson requested that consideration be given to providing a second site in Ballymena.

He noted that the Wilson Crescent proposal would be “serving one side of the town”.

“It is a big town,” he added.

Alliance Knockagh Councillor Aaron Skinner, who is not a committee member but had speaking rights at the meeting, welcomed progress on the proposals.

“It is good to see this moving forward. It is a project that has been a long time in the works,” he said.

Knockagh DUP Councillor Marc Collins asked whether equipment could be provided at the facilities in the future.

Questions raised over parking and location

Braid TUV Councillor Matthew Warwick expressed concern about access and parking at the proposed Ballymena location.

“To be beneficial to the wider borough, people should be able to park,” he commented.

A council officer explained that parking is available nearby, adjacent to a play park and community centre.

“We are not encouraging people to travel to exercise their dogs,” she said, stressing that the proposal remains “very much at the consultation stage”.

Coast Road Ulster Unionist Councillor Maureen Morrow asked whether any alternative sites had been considered.

Ballymena TUV Councillor Matthew Armstrong noted that people already walk their dogs at Wakehurst “every day of the week”.

He said he did not want “Crufts” equipment at the proposed facility, but questioned the cost of installing fencing to create an exercise area when there is already a field beside the proposed location.

“The logic is not terribly clear,” he added.

Secure off-lead space at heart of proposal

The council officer explained that the proposed facility had been requested by elected members and was intended to provide a “secure site for dogs to exercise off-lead”.

She stressed the importance of any chosen location being secure.

Carrickfergus Castle DUP Alderman Billy Ashe MBE also raised concerns about potential liability if an incident involving dogs occurred within a council facility.

“I saw this done 20 years ago. The first time somebody’s dog attacks another dog, the claim comes to the council,” he said.

The officer replied:

“These are all part of the consultation process.”

She indicated that the issues raised, along with feedback gathered through the public consultation, would be brought back to the committee for further consideration.

At this stage, the proposals remain subject to consultation and no final decision has been taken to establish either of the two new dog exercise areas.