‘We can’t afford to take the community for granted again’ – councillor calls for action on Ballymena recovery
Independent Ballymena councillor Rodney Quigley
Saturday 17 October 2026
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has been urged to turn its commitment to Ballymena’s recovery into meaningful action, amid questions over funding, progress and support for communities affected by last summer’s riots.
Ballymena Independent Councillor Rodney Quigley has called for greater clarity on what has been achieved since the council approved a recovery plan last November, warning that residents cannot afford to be taken for granted again.
Speaking at a council meeting at The Braid in Ballymena on Monday evening, Cllr Quigley questioned what practical steps had been taken to help the town recover from the disorder in June 2025.
Impact of the June 2025 riots
The unrest, which followed an initially peaceful protest in Ballymena, continued for several days and spread to other areas, including Larne, where the leisure centre was targeted in an arson attack.
A previous council committee report recorded an estimated £5 million policing cost associated with the disorder in Ballymena and Larne.
The report stated:
“The public disorder that occurred after the peaceful protest lasted a number of days and was largely targeted at minority communities within a particular area of Ballymena.”
It also highlighted the wider damage caused to community relationships and confidence in public authorities.
“The disorder has had a negative impact on the community’s relationship with the PSNI and statutory agencies in general. It has also caused fear within the wider ethnic minority community.”
Questions over recovery plan and funding
Addressing the council, Cllr Quigley sought an update on the recovery plan approved in November 2025 and questioned whether sufficient support was being provided to deliver it.
He stated:
“The council approved a recovery plan last November. What has been done to implement this plan?
“I, along with other members, have sought support from senior management team to help deliver this recovery. Do we have this support? Has the senior management team secured funding from the Executive Office or elsewhere to implement this plan? Have they met with the Executive Office to seek support for Ballymena and the wider borough?
“I was part of a launch of a new recovery plan by the Ballymena South Community Forum on 24 September. I was disappointed that no-one from the senior management team was in attendance.
“I ask on behalf of the people of Ballymena that council gets behind the community of Ballymena and helps implement their own recovery plan.”
His intervention brought renewed attention to the need for visible progress, particularly in communities still dealing with the consequences of the disorder.
Council chief executive apologises
Responding to the concerns, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council interim chief executive Valerie Watts apologised for the absence of senior management representatives at the Ballymena South Community Forum event, held at the Adair Arms Hotel.
She replied:
“On behalf of all of the senior management team, I apologise yet again for the absence of a senior manager at that event that was held in the Adair Arms.
“The council worked very hard to help pull that recovery plan together. All of the senior management team are fully behind that recovery plan. There’s too much detail in that recovery plan for me to go into specific answers as to what we are doing about it but I am very happy to bring a report back to the next full council or appropriate committee, if the councillor deems it necessary.”
Her response offered the prospect of a further report setting out the council’s work, although no specific funding commitment or delivery timetable was confirmed during the exchange.
‘We can’t afford to take the community for granted again’
Welcoming the prospect of a further update, Cllr Quigley acknowledged the assistance already provided by the council but stressed that communities needed firm commitments rather than assurances alone.
He replied:
“I am heartened there will be something coming forth.
“Since the issues last year, council have been very helpful. They have been on the ground but we need something set in stone.
“The people of Harryville and Clonavon have suffered a lot for six or seven, maybe eight years because of the issues around the area and I feel that we need to take this seriously.
“We saw what happened because of the failure to address the issues in the run-up to the unrest. I feel that we can’t afford to take the community for granted again. I would appreciate it if we could bring something forward to see where we could go with this, especially for some sort of funding to come into the area to help.”
His remarks underlined concerns that the challenges facing Harryville and Clonavon extend beyond the events of June 2025 and require sustained attention and investment.
Cross-party interest in community recovery
Ballymena Alliance Councillor Jack Gibson also requested an update on progress and praised the “fantastic ideas and vision” presented at the Ballymena South Community Forum event in the Adair Arms Hotel.
The discussion comes against the backdrop of a wider Northern Ireland response to the disorder.
Following the unrest, The Executive Office invited councils across Northern Ireland to submit proposals for programmes and interventions designed “to address social and racial cohesion”.
However, the extent to which funding has been secured for Ballymena’s recovery plan, and how the council intends to translate its commitments into practical measures, remains to be clarified.
For communities in Harryville, Clonavon and the wider town, the focus is now on whether the promised recovery work will deliver lasting improvements on the ground.
