The Latest News from Townscape Heritage Initiative
Ballymoney Regeneration Company Townscape Heritage Initiative
The Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) is a grant-aid programme for the regeneration of the historic environment in towns and cities throughout the UK and is administered by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The main aim of THI is to promote the repair and sustainable re-use of vacant or under used buildings that positively contribute to the townscape character of historic urban areas and to promote physical and economic regeneration within designated conservation areas.
Ballymoney THI
The proposed Ballymoney Townscape Heritage Initiative to repair, reuse and regenerate historic buildings within the Ballymoney Conservation Area relates primarily to three clusters of potentially eligible properties. These clusters are focused on Victoria Street, Diamond/Main Street and High Street. A total of twenty eight buildings, all privately owned, have been provisionally identified as being eligible for THI funding.
Subject to HLF Round 2 approval, Ballymoney THI will be implemented by the Ballymoney Regeneration Company Ltd in association with Ballymoney Borough Council and completed over a five year period. The THI is programmed to commence in autumn 2012 and be completed by summer 2017.
In addition to THI grant, projects will be eligible for grant assistance from other funding sources, depending on the scope of work that is required, the listed status of the building and the proposed end use. THI grants are in addition to other sources of grant that the project may be eligible to receive and is therefore a top-up grant, the levels of which are based on the scope of the eligible works, as defined by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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The Ballymoney Regeneration Company Ltd (BRC) was established in 1993 and is a company limited by guarantee. The company has a membership of some 65 general members and a Company Board of Directors comprising 14No. members; 9No. members representing the retail and services sectors and 3No. elected members of the Council. The Company’s main objectives are to promote regeneration and development of the Borough of Ballymoney with particular regard to the improvement of the environment.
In association with Ballymoney Borough Council, BRC submitted a Round 1 THI application in November 2010 and in May 2011 received a Round 1 pass from the HLF for £1.34 million towards the physical and economic regeneration of Ballymoney Conservation Area. In September 2011, Ballymoney Regeneration Company Ltd appointed WDR & RT Taggart as conservation consultants to develop the proposals and prepare the Round 2 HLF application.
Stakeholder Support
Support for the proposed THI from all stakeholders, including the local community, community groups, local traders, property owners, local schools, funding bodies, the Council and statutory agencies is critical if the full potential of heritage-led regeneration is to be achieved.
Education, Training and Activities
BRC will deliver a programme of community activities, and training and education programmes aimed at encouraging people of all ages to become more aware of and actively involved with their shared heritage. These will be structured to widen knowledge, understanding and awareness of heritage issues.
A series of training activities will be delivered by PRL during the course of the initiative which will include a programme of talks and lectures and practical training days in traditional building materials, skills and techniques.
Ballymoney
Ballymoney is situated on the main route from Belfast to the north coast of Antrim, which lies 10 miles to the north. The town acts as a major market centre for the large surrounding farming community and has been functioning as such since the eighteenth century.
Little is known about the origins of Ballymoney except that the settlement developed around two Celtic forts. The name Ballymoney is derived from the Irish place name Baile-Mona, the town of the bog, perhaps due to its location close to the extensive areas of lowland.
In 1708 Ballymoney was described as being a ‘pretty, clean English-like town belonging to the Earl of Antrim’. An early street map of 1734 shows the street pattern of the town centre, focused on the Diamond, which has remained almost unchanged to this day.
The town developed steadily through the relatively settled times of the eighteenth century and by 1811, according to the ‘Statistical Survey of County Antrim’ there were 309 houses and an estimated population of 1800. By the 1830s Ballymoney was in the midst of a church building phase, including the Parish Church, Unitarian Meetinghouse, Second Presbyterian Church and Roman Catholic Church.
The new road from Ballymena to Coleraine in 1837 together with the advent of the railway in 1855 had a major impact on the town however the town was largely unaffected by the consequences of the nineteenth century reorganisation of the north Irish linen industry, resulting in the town’s population remaining stagnant at around 3,000. It was not until the 1950s and the large scale erection of public sector housing combined with the attraction of substantial manufacturing employment that there was significant expansion of the town.
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Further Information
Contact:
Nick Brown
THI Project Officer
Address:
Ballymoney Regeneration Company
c/o Ballymoney Borough Council
Riada House
14 Charles Street
Ballymoney
BT53 6DZ
Telephone: 028 2766 0282
E-mail: thi@ballymoney.gov.uk
Website: www.ballymoney.gov.uk
