Welcome for progress on Alexander Street, but the pace needs to quicken

Ballymena SDLP councillor Declan O’Loan has welcomed the response from the Department of Social Development to the Council after he raised concerns about the slow progress with the Alexander Street development.

He said, “As well as the slow progress, the Council was not being informed. DSD have now written to the Council as a result of my raising the issue. The bottom line is that long delays have happened because of complicated processes within government. But the job of doing a masterplan for the town into which Alexander Street will fit will start at last in January.

I fully support the masterplan idea. We need to plan the Town Centre as a whole. Ballymena’s strength in retailing is its mix. We have multiples and independent retailers. We have shopping malls and traditional streets. We need to keep all of that thriving.

I want the masterplan to be done quickly. Alexander Street needs to be developed to give some certainty over the direction for the town. We are in competition with other places and they are not standing still.

At the end of the day, development depends on private developers. I would encourage them too to act with urgency. As well as their own interests, they also have a responsibility to the wider community. We all benefit from a stronger Ballymena.”