Minister announces greening project for vacant site in Larne
Monday 21 July 2025
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced his department’s support for a £171,050 project to bring an empty gap site on Larne Main Street into community use as a pop-up park.
The initiative, led by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, will open up the former Cellars site, transforming it from an overgrown, vacant patch of ground to a temporary community garden. In addition, the project will deliver a new footpath connecting Main Street with Point Street, colourful street art and animation activities.
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has secured a lease for the site for up to four years, pending development of a permanent use by the site owner. To help shape the final design of the garden, there will be stakeholder engagement in the summer, including with local community groups. It is anticipated that construction will start in the Autumn and be completed in Spring 2026.
Minister Lyons commented: “I am pleased that my department has been able to provide £154,000 of funding towards this project. This initiative will transform an area that is currently inaccessible, unused and unattractive, bringing it into use to provide a welcoming area for people to sit, socialise and interact.
“It will bring a pleasant green space into the heart of the Main Street. Our traders face many challenges, and I am happy to support schemes, such as this, which bring forward fresh ideas for encouraging people to visit and spend time in our town centres.”
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Councillor Jackson Minford added: “This exciting project aligns with the current Larne Town Centre Investment Plan by replacing a vacant overgrown site with a fresh-looking pop-up park, that everyone can enjoy. This is quite a large site which connects Main Street to Point Street and I’m looking forward to seeing the final design, as there are so many possibilities.
This is one of many projects Council has planned for Larne over the next 12 to 18 months, aiming to regenerate the area, address the changing nature of our High Streets and tackle the issue of vacancy and dereliction.”