Antrim and Randalstown have below-average vacancy rates

COUNCILLORS have been given an update on a Town Centre Vacancy Scoping Study - with Antrim residents calling for a broader range of retail and Randalstown people happy with the appearance of their town.

A delegation from Turley and CBRE gave a presentation on the work they have undertaken on the study to the Economic Development Committee of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council at Mossley Mill on Monday night.

Elected reps were told that the consultants scoped land use, the dereliction status and overall quality of buildings. It was noted that Antrim has a 'good mix of uses' including retail and community, with some vacancy around High Street, with an overall vacancy rate of 16%, comparing 'well' with the Northern Ireland average of 23%.

The built environment was described as being in 'good condition' with no dereliction. Ballyclare town centre had the highest level of vacancy in the borough at 23%.

Crumlin's average was also 16% was described as having high residential levels and churches in the centre with a mix of retail, some 'backland' dereliction and with building frontage looking 'dated'. Randalstown was the smallest town centre surveyed with just 12% vacancies and a 'good mix of uses'.

A survey said that in terms of retail, discounters B&M, Home Bargains, The Range are all expanding and there was a strong demand for retail park space occupancy at around 95%, but that Poundland's difficulties would have an impact. It was noted that The Junction has been acquired by Frasers with plans to redevelop the retail and leisure offering at the site, but that a large portion of Castle Mall was being lost to social housing.

The report said that out of town retail is having a significant impact on town centres. In terms of office provision, the study said that SPACE in Antrim is fully occupied while SPACE Glengormley is in progress and there is strong demand generally for serviced offices, with demand expected to continue as tenants prefer flexibility. Potential SPACE expansion into Crumlin or Randalstown was suggested.

On hotels, the study said that despite rising minimum wage costs and rates revaluation, inflationary pressures and ongoing economic uncertainty, there are a number of large hotels in the borough to include Dunadry, The Rabbit and Hilton Templepatrick.

It was said that demand will mainly arise from budget/mid scale chain operators, which may fill a gap that the larger hotels don't serve, however 'the evening economy would need to be stronger'.

In terms of food and beverage provision, the report noted the opening of Popeyes drive-thru in Antrim and that Starbucks, Caffè Nero and Black Sheep are all expanding, but that limited sites and build costs could push rents to record levels.

The study said that occupier demand for drive-thru format was coming from McDonald's, Starbucks and Greggs and that new franchises seeking NI sites including Taco Bell and Blank Street Coffee, but high-profile closures include Synge & Byrne, in the face of rising energy, food and wage bills.

It was noted that demand is limited from national operators for smaller towns such as Ballyclare, Crumlin and Randalstown, although many operators are already represented at The Junction and Abbey Centre.

The study said that operators want high footfall locations and there is a lack of suitable properties for national chain operators in the town centre. The closure of Dobbies at The Junction was also mentioned.

A Public Attitude Survey was also circulated, with Randalstown 'standing out' for resident and shopper satisfaction and it was also noted that there was 'a lot of pride' in Antrim's history. 518 people from Antrim responded to the survey, 213 from Crumlin and 125 from Randalstown. 70% of the 1357 respondents were women.

Due to the low sign-up rate from Crumlin and Randalstown, two standalone workshops for each town were folded into the main Antrim event, with no one turning up from Crumlin.

Antrim had the highest share working in the town centre at 19%. Ballyclare had the highest share owning property there at 25. Antrim and Ballyclare had above-average use for clothes and lifestyle shopping, at 22% and 27%, while Crumlin and Randalstown had the strongest reliance on food and grocery shopping, at 94% and 90% respectively.

Crumlin had the highest proportion visiting to eat out at 47% and for pubs and nightlife at 41% and in Randalstown, pubs and nightlife also featured strongly at 30%.

In Antrim, 94% said a better range of shops would encourage more visits. In Crumlin, 45% wanted more seating a places to relax and 48% supported more events and activities.

In Randalstown, fewer empty buildings was the most selected improvement. Only 5% selected better cleanliness and maintenance, indicating less demand for this particular intervention than elsewhere.

In Antrim, one focus was to extend the Old Courthouse's role through promotion, cultural and community activity and to secure viable funding and delivery models for vacant or underused properties.

The report recommended 'demand-led independent, enterprise or community activity' in, for example, the remaining consolidated Castle Mall space But challenges include 'a complex planning system that has the potential to block genuine investment and discourage entrepreneurship'.

Other suggestions were to explore additional restaurants, evening dining and cultural activity and to improve connectivity between the centre and public transport, linking the civic core, Castle Gardens, riverside and town centre through routes, signage and promotion.

The report said: "There is recognition that the council has invested significantly, for example, around the Courthouse and the cafe, and this has been successful. The challenge is how to build and learn from this rather than simply duplicate it in Antrim, or in the other towns, where this type of investment may not be the right intervention."

Prioritised planting, seating, outdoor dining and events was also suggested. For Randalstown, it was suggested that council develops visitor experiences, interpretation and complementary cultural or community uses, promotes affordable start-up, incubation, co-working or serviced workspace and encourages hospitality, independent retail and wellbeing uses that fit the town's character.

Other suggestions included co-ordinating coordinate businesses, community groups and the council to encourage repeat visits and to match vacant properties to realistic uses based on condition, ownership, demand and cost, and protecting the town's character while strengthening enterprise, visitor activity and property reuse.

However it was acknowledged that conservation and planning requirements must be managed for historic-building reuse.

The study authors said that 'heritage, an attractive setting, independent businesses and a strong sense of place are core strengths' and that 'major physical change should follow a clear need and a viable delivery route'.

A stronger offer and fewer empty buildings are the clearest reasons people say they would visit towns more often. The report said that pop-ups, meanwhile uses and targeted pilot establish whether concepts are viable, and that retail, entertainment, seating, events, access and public realm carry different weight from town to town.

A final report that will support the creation of one evidence-led delivery framework, with a tailored intervention mix for each town will follow.

After the presentation, Ballyclare reps said they were surprised with the finding that there were 34 properties in the town centre and queried the figure.

Antrim Town SDLP Councillor Roisin Lynch welcomed the suggestions about Antrim's Old Courthouse and planting in the public realm.

"The town could benefit from more trees, greenery and biodiversity, we need to lean into heritage, Antrim is a bit land-locked in many ways, we need to be making best use of Antrim Castle Gardens and the town centre, whether we make a roadway through or build bridges, we also need to look at the river, many buildings are facing away, we need more of them looking towards the river and make more use of that." she said.

She congratulated those who contributed to the survey and said that council should with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive on tackling vacancy at Parkhall and Greystone shopping centres, which she said added to the sense of under-development in the town.

Majella McAllister, Director of Economic Development and Planning said she was 'upbeat' despite the challenges and clusters of dereliction.

"Towns aren't doing that badly, the challenge for us is ensuring that towns are modern and relevant and making connections with new housing developments. There is no doubt about that, in Ballyclare and Antrim there are real opportunities for town centres through council interventions, to help people secure properties and invest in those towns." she said.

"A lot of what we have done is already coming to fruition. We are dealing with a very small amount of landowners, with the right financial model we can bring some of those (vacant buildings) to market, some of those are not being actively marketed, we can make direct approaches to those landowners, and see what kind of financial model would work."

She said that the Shaping Sustainable Places scheme would provide quite significant investment into tackling vacancy and that the council had a number of interventions and proposals 'ready to go'.