Plans for a "long-awaited" new community centre in Ballymena were approved on Thursday morning (16 June) at a meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's (MEABC) Planning Committee.
Comprising the redevelopment of the former Waveney Community Centre site, just off Glendun Park, and adjacent to the Waveney Youth Centre, in the town, the proposal will see a newly constructed centre providing much-needed facilities for both community groups and sports clubs.
The site has been underused for a number of years, as the previous Waveney Community Centre, which had been there from the 1970s, was no longer fit for purpose and condemned for demolition in late 2016.
An aerial photograph of the site, overlayed with the new site plans for the new community centre and changing rooms. Site location coloured red in top circle image.
After the initial consultation undertaken by MEABC, who is responsible for the plan, a number of local community needs were identified to be served by the new facility:
Community:
Community Entrance Fover
3 Person Office (minimum)
10-12 Person Meeting Room (minimum)
Badminton Hall (min. internal dimensions 8m x 15m)
Furniture & Equipment Stores
Bowling Mat Storage
Kitchen facilities to serve Hall
Accessible Toilet amenities, including Changing Places Facility
First Aid Room
Changing Facilities:
4no. Changing Rooms (incl. showers & WC)
2no. Referee Changing Rooms (incl. showers & WC)
Wheelchair Accessible Shower
Tea Station
Equipment Storage
Upon completion of the new facility, it will provide much needed Community and Changing Facilities to serve the local Community, and the existing semi-permanent changing facilities will be removed.
Elevations of new approved community centre and changing facilities.
Ballymena Councillor Matthew Armstrong (TUV) has been at the forefront of calls for a new facility in the area, and he has welcomed today's approval, saying:
"I am delighted to see that the Waveney project has cleared planning stage and can now be put out to tender.
"A mixture of monies from Department for Communities (DfC) and local Council will provide the return of a long-awaited community facility in the area providing meeting space, sports hall, changing rooms and showers, and I look forward to it's progression.
"It is fantastic also to see the inclusion of another 'changing places' facility in our town and borough."
Floor plan of new community facility.