BALLYMONEY
TOWN CENTRE
The Plan seeks to maintain a vibrant, compact, multi-functional town
centre, which effectively functions as the focus of community and commercial
life not just for the town, but for all of the Borough. A major retail
household survey of summer 2003 concluded that only 45% of all retail
expenditure from Ballymoney Borough takes place within Ballymoney town. The
town centre had experienced considerable decline throughout the 1970s and
1980s, with only small scale commercial investment in that period. In the past
decade however, there has been an increase in commercial investment including
a major food retailer, complemented by extensive good quality refurbishment of
commercial properties in the heart of the town and upgrading of the main
commercial streets. The Plan seeks to build on this by providing for
significant town centre development and maintaining it as a vibrant shopping
location with complementary commercial, leisure and housing uses.
A town centre is defined, within which all retail development will
normally be required to locate. This has been defined to exclude all
significant housing groups which are considered to have a viable future as a
residential environment. Within this town centre boundary a considerable
number of development opportunities are identified including gap sites and
properties requiring redevelopment or major refurbishment to bring them back
into beneficial use. The Plan designates the following major development
opportunity sites.
Development Opportunity Sites
The Plan identifies the following major development opportunities.
Proposals will be assessed against Policy SET 3: Proposals on Development
Opportunity Sites, in Volume 1 of the Plan.
Zoning BYT 02
Linenhall Street, Development Opportunity (0.35 ha.)
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Key site requirements
1. A mixed development including any combination of retailing, offices,
recreational and residential will be acceptable.
2. Any development shall not exceed three storeys in height.
3. The design and finishes shall be of a high standard and enhance the
appearance of Linenhall Street and High Street.
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Zoning BYT 03
Meeting House Street, Development Opportunity (1.08 ha.)
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Key site requirements
1. A high density housing scheme will be acceptable on this central site with
excellent accessibility (up to 100 dwellings per hectare).
2. Commercial development including warehousing and offices will be acceptable
on this site. The only retail development acceptable will be retail
warehousing
with units of not less than 900 square metres gross floorspace,
selling
predominantly bulky goods.
3. Any development shall not exceed three storeys in height.
4. The design and finishes shall be of a high standard and enhance the
appearance of Meeting House Street. The boundary to the railway shall be
landscaped to a high standard and the elevational treatment of any buildings
fronting the railway shall be of a good quality.
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In addition to the major development opportunities the Plan identifies
eight target sites. These are smaller individual properties where major
refurbishment or redevelopment will be acceptable provided the scale, height,
design and finishes of any proposal will make a positive contribution to the
townscape.