New £25million leisure centre in Ballymena moves one step closer

Elected members have approved the mix of facilities which will make up the new £25 million leisure centre in Ballymena, which will be located in the St Patrick’s Barracks site.

At the recent monthly meeting held in the Braid, councillors agreed that the centre would include a 25 meter Pool, a toddler pool, a learner pool and a main hall, kids facilities, a café, a gym, a Spin Studio, Multi-Purpose Studio, Specialist Studio and a Spa.

The state of the art project will be designed to make it one of the premier leisure centres in Northern Ireland.

Four options were presented at the Council meeting and the approved option is the most financially viable and includes all of the facilities that were identified during the extensive consultation process carried out last year.

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Peter Johnston, said: “This will be a fantastic new centre with first-class facilities for everyone in Mid and East Antrim to enjoy and be proud of.

"It will make a huge difference to our local community, helping them to keep fit and stay healthy while giving them a new venue to enjoy with family and friends.”

Elected Members have been passionate in leading up the regeneration and redevelopment of St Patricks Barracks as part of the legacy of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and a key part of this development is the integration of the new leisure centre within the site, as somewhere for people to use, build community links and form a very important link to the town centre.

Council will keep members of the public fully informed as plans continue to be developed for the new centre.