Town Centre Health Check publication - p4
3.0 Larne Town Centre
3.1 Maps 11-13 in Appendix A illustrate the land use surveys which were carried out by the Plan team in March 2024.
They show the ground, first and second floor uses for all units within Larne town centre boundary as defined in the Larne Area Plan 2010.
Figure C below shows the number of units present for the various town centre uses in Larne in March 2024 and provides a comparison with the Northern Ireland average.
Figure C Larne Town Centre Composition
|
Larne |
Units # 2018 |
Units % 2018 |
Units # 2021 |
Units % 2021 |
Units # 2024 |
Units % 2024 |
NI % average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Convenience |
17 |
5.86 |
12 |
4.26 |
12 |
4.33 |
7.30% |
|
Comparison |
78 |
26.9 |
74 |
26.24 |
67 |
24.19 |
30.07% |
|
Retail Services |
56 |
19.31 |
64 |
22.770 |
60 |
21.66 |
13.86% |
|
Leisure Services |
42 |
14.48 |
47 |
16.67 |
45 |
16.25 |
19.81% |
|
Finance & Business |
35 |
12.07 |
21 |
7.45 |
21 |
7.58 |
8.84% |
|
Vacant |
62 |
21.38 |
64 |
22.70 |
72 |
25.99 |
20.12% |
|
TOTAL |
290 |
100.00% |
282 |
100.00% |
277 |
100.00% |
100.00% |
Source: Mid & East Antrim Borough Council & Experian, 2024
Health Check Assessment for Larne Town Centre
Description
3.2 Larne is located on the coast, on the eastern boundary of the Mid and East Antrim Borough.
It is the second largest seaport in Northern Ireland.
At the time of the 2021 census, Larne had a population of 18853, making it the third largest town within the Borough, behind Ballymena and Carrickfergus.
The Larne bus and railway station is located approximately 0.3 miles from the Town Centre.
Overall Composition
3.3 Larne Town Centre had a total of 277 retail units within the town centre boundary at the time of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council survey.
The headline points are that Larne Town Centre has lower than average proportion of convenience units, comparison units and leisure services, and higher than average retail services and vacant units.
These statistics are very similar the those in 2021.
Overall, the centre has a diverse range of shops, albeit that the breakdown of categories diverge slightly from the Northern Ireland averages.
Convenience & Comparison
3.4 At the time of the MEA Borough survey, there were 12 convenience units, accounting for 4.33% of the total units.
This is below the NI average of 7.30% however the number of convenience units has remained constant since 2021.
The lower than average percentage is due in part to the prominence of the large format Asda supermarket outside the town centre, which dominates the convenience goods market.
As such there are fewer convenience units in total.
Comparison goods units account for 24.19% of the total units.
Historical data showed in 2009 the Experian Goad survey identified 33.9% comparison units, however this healthy percentage has continued to fall to around 27%, 26% and 24% in 2018, 2021 and 2024 and now sits well below the Northern Ireland Average of 30.07%.
Services
3.5 When considering services, Larne has a strong offer of retail services (21.66%) well above the NI average of 13.86%, while financial and business services (7.58%) is slightly below the NI average.
Larne has a lower proportion of leisure services within the town centre (16.25%) compared with the NI average of 19.81%.
Vacancies
3.6 At the time of the MEA Council survey, Larne had 72 vacant units, resulting in a proportion of almost 26%.
This is higher than Carrickfergus and Ballymena’s percentage vacancy well above the Northern Ireland average of 20.18%.
According to the GL Hearn Northern Ireland Town Centre Study of 2014, historic vacancy rates were last at 26% in 2007.
Retailer Representation
3.7 Larne Town overall has 22 national multiples and major retailers with 19 of them within the town centre.
Experian’s Goad Category Reports historically listed 30 national multiples that had been identified as retailers most likely to improve consumer appeal of a town centres, however Experian have advised that some retailers on the list are no longer trading on the high street or are no longer as prevalent so their list needs updating.
Of the 25 shops on their list still trading or prevalent on the High Street, Larne Town has 4, all of which are inside the existing town centre boundary including Argos, Tesco, Vodafone and Superdrug.
Average Prime Rents
3.8 Recent Council analysis of town centre commercial property rents revealed that most are between £6 and £8 per square foot. (propertypal.com and propertynews.com)
Accessibility
3.9 The town centre benefits from a bus and railway station located 0.3 miles from the centre.
On weekdays there are 20 daily train services Monday to Friday to Belfast, 10 on a Saturday and 7 on a Sunday.
There are multiple bus routes connecting Larne to surrounding towns and 5 different town service routes.
Furthermore, there are 966 car parking spaces in the centre, 611 of which are Council run (council survey March 2023), and 355 privately run (Systra survey 2018).
Footfall
3.10 Larne footfall counters are located at Broadway, 20 Main Street and 96 Main Street however the full set footfall counters were not in place in Larne until 2020 so in order to avoid taking figures during covid periods were footfall would have been abnormally affected, the figures provided are from April 2023 to April 2024. Footfall during this period fell by 6%.
Physical Structure and Constraints
3.11 The Flood Map (Map 14, Appendix 1) shows potential for some limited river flooding (Q100cc) in Larne, particularly in areas to the south of the Harbour Highway and along Point Street.
Tidal flooding (T200cc) is concentrated to the west of the Circular Road roundabout.
Surface water flooding can occur throughout the town centre.
The Larne constraints map (Map 15, Appendix 1) prepared by the Council identifies defence and industrial heritage assets, sites and monuments, and listed buildings.
These assets are located throughout the centre, constraining development in some parts of Larne.
Perception of Crime and Safety
3.12 The most recent data available in the ‘Town Centre Database’, published by the Department of Communities reports that in 2022 there were 395 incidences of crime within Carrickfergus Town Centre.
Of the total crimes, 36% were listed as anti-social behaviour, 34% were violence and sexual offences, and 10% were criminal damage and arson.
Environmental Quality
3.13 Larne was thought to have a good level of environmental quality, with an attractive High Street and good quality pedestrian paths.
A concerted effort by local group Larne Renovation Generation to improve the urban environment in Larne has resulted in a series of small scale projects across the town centre.
The group use crowd funding and aim to turn Larne into ‘a creative cultural hub for all the local people and tourists to enjoy’.
The project has resulted in numerous small scale urban improvements including the coloured bicycles.