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Saint Patrick’s Barracks site in Ballymena. More than £160m investment through a comprehensive, mixed-use housing-led development.

Development plan

The Development Plan for the site is the roadmap for the flagship, shared, mixed use, housing-led regeneration scheme. The plan includes:

  • residential homes;
  • an Integrated Industrial Inspiration and Innovation Campus (i4c);
  • a leisure and wellbeing centre;
  • a new civic space;
  • links with the new neighbouring Northern Regional College campus;
  • a new PSNI station;
  • along with the provision of car parking, road infrastructure and foot and cycle paths.
The St Patrick’s Barracks development has rented accommodation for Families in a very popular area of Ballymena.
It consists of 47 units of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses. This development is broken up into the following street names –
  • Cassino Avenue
  • Burma Place
  • Centuripe Avenue
  • Argenta Walk
  • St Patrick’s Terrace
St Patrick’s Barracks housing development is located in the Town of Ballymena. It is in a prime location that is within walking distance to the town centre. It is also situated close to local amenities, primary schools and medical facilities.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council are another key partner in delivering the regeneration outcomes for the site and plan to deliver three major elements of the programme:

  • i4C Innovation and Cleantech Centre
  • new leisure centre
  • new central civic space

i4C Innovation and Cleantech Centre

The i4C innovation centre is presently being progressed under the Belfast Region City Deal and construction is scheduled to commence in 2024. This is a £23.5 million project and will provide office accommodation, labs and workshops and a range of enterprise and innovation supports for SME’s and local industry. It will include an iLAB makerspace and a skills training workshop where local businesses and entrepreneurs will have access to technicians and equipment in order to develop, test and commercialise their ideas. i4C will provide supports for key industrial sectors, such as advanced manufacturing and agri-food. It will also have a focus on developing supports in clean technology as the economy moves towards zero carbon.

New leisure centre

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council are planning for the construction of a new leisure centre at St Patrick’s Barracks which will replace the Seven Towers leisure centre upon completion. This will consist of a 25 metre pool, learner pool, 4 court sports hall, café, gym, spin studios, clip and climb, soft play area and spa facility.

 

Community Connections space

Central to Council’s plans at St Patrick’s is the ‘Community Connections’ project. The central element of this proposal is a new public event space, designed to provide a focus for the wider St Patrick’s development and a shared place for community activity. This space will have a town square feel with current design concepts including low level bollard lighting, raised planters, feature landscaping and high quality public realm.

This space will be complemented by a sensory garden and an interpretative area which will be located beside the Leisure and Wellbeing Centre. The Council also has plans to develop a pedestrian bridge towards Ecos parkland from the St Patrick’s Link Road.

 

Northern Regional College

Farm Lodge Campus redevelopment

Northern Regional College is in the final stages of a £45 million capital investment project, delivering a new state of the art campus on its current site in Farm Lodge, Ballymena. The project is situated beside the wider St Patrick’s site and will have strong links to the neighbouring projects.

Opening to students for the 2025/26 academic year, the 16,800 m2 campus amalgamates three locations in the town to one central, impressive purpose-built campus. The new Ballymena Campus will deliver a widened curriculum for school-leavers, adult learners and business professionals in Ballymena and surrounding areas.

Facilities at the new Farm Lodge campus will include extensive advanced technology workshops, CAD teaching and support facilities. It will also feature a flexible ‘innovation zone’ that can be adapted for a wide range of activities, including cross-curriculum project-based learning, conferences and performances.

 

PSNI

New police station

The PSNI plans to develop a new police station to replace the current Galgorm Road buildings on the south eastern portion of the St Patrick’s site. The new station will be delivered in line with the wider PSNI transformation and modernisation plans. The new station will be a modern and flexible facility, with a softer appearance similar to other public buildings on the site.