Town Centre Health Check publication - p7
6.0 Cullybackey Commercial Centre
6.1 Maps 26-28 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 the commercial centre of Cullybackey as defined in the Ballymena Area Plan 1986-2001.
A small town centre boundary will be designated for Cullybackey in the Local Policies Plan.
Figure F below shows the number of units present for the various town centre uses in Cullybackey in March 2024 and provides a comparison with the Northern Ireland average.
Figure F Cullybackey Commercial Centre Composition
|
Cullybackey |
Units # 2024 |
Units % 2024 |
NI % average |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Convenience |
4 |
11.11 |
7.30% |
|
Comparison |
3 |
8.34 |
30.07% |
|
Retail Services |
12 |
33.33 |
13.86% |
|
Leisure Services |
8 |
22.22 |
19.81% |
|
Finance & Business |
1 |
2.78 |
8.84% |
|
Vacant |
8 |
22.22 |
20.12% |
|
TOTAL |
36 |
100.00% |
100.00% |
Source: Mid & East Antrim Borough Council & Experian, 2024
Health Check Assessment for Cullybackey Commercial Centre
Description
6.2 Cullybackey is located to the north-east of Ballymena, with the local centre of Galgorm lying in between these two settlements.
At the time of the 2021 census, Cullybackey had a population of 2659, making it the second smallest in population size of the 5 small towns designated in the borough.
There is no bus station in Cullybackey however several buses stop in the commercial centre going to and from surrounding towns.
There is a railway station on Station Road which is on the Londonderry Belfast line.
Overall Composition
6.3 Cullybackey has a total of 36 retail units within the commercial centre at the time of the MEA council survey.
The headline figures are that there are more convenience units than most other small towns and as with all other small towns retail and leisure services are plentiful in comparison to other uses.
Convenience & Comparison
6.4 At the time of the MEA Council survey, there were 4 convenience units, accounting for 11.11 % of the total units.
This is well above the NI average of 7.30%.
The convenience stores are mainly long established family run supermarkets or bakery businesses which are clearly well supported by locals.
The 3 comparison goods units in the commercial centre account for 8.34% of the total units which is significantly below the Northern Ireland Average of 30.07% but better notably include 2 national multiples in Boots and Specsavers.
Given the very close proximity to the regional shopping town of Ballymena, it may prove difficult to generate enough footfall to sustain other types of comparison shops such as clothing, footwear etc in Cullybackey.
Services
6.5 When considering services, Cullybackey has a very strong offer of retail services (33.33%) more than double the NI average of 13.86%, and while there is only 1 financial & business type service in the commercial centre it 8 leisure services (22.22%) which is above the NI average of 19.81%.
Its apparent that most of the businesses in Cullybackey commercial centre are mainly supported by locals availing of personal services such as hair and beauty alongside leisure uses such as cafes and takeaways.
Vacancies
6.6 At the time of the MEA Council survey, Cullybackey had 8 vacant units, resulting in a proportion of 22.22%.
This is higher than the Northern Ireland average of 20.18%.
As Cullybackey has only recently been designated a small town, and therefore not previously monitored in terms of town centre health check criteria, it is not possible to determine if the vacancy rate is increasing or decreasing until a further review is completed in 2 years’ time.
Retailer Representation
6.7 Cullybackey commercial centre has 2 national multiple present namely Boots and Specsavers.
The Specsavers unit is an office for arranging home visits.
Average Prime Rents
6.8 Recent Council analysis of commercial centre property rents online, did not reveal any retail property currently to let, however a small first floor office is currently on the market to let at £259 per month (propertypal.com and propertynews.com)
Accessibility
6.9 Buses stop several times daily in the commercial centre of Cullybackey on route to and from surrounding towns.
There are park and ride facilities adjacent to the train station in Cullybackey.
There are no council run car parks in Cullybackey although there are privately owned free carparks which customers can avail of, to the rear of Eurospar, Village Inn and Toast café and adjacent to Main Bakery all on Main Street.
Traffic through Cullybackey is often very busy especially at peak travel times and school collection times.
Land has been protected for a bypass around the rear of properties on the north-western side of Main Street for several decades, but it is still unknown if DFI budgets will come forward to enable this infrastructure to be developed in future.
Such a scheme may well help the commercial centre to sustain more retail units as amenity for customers would be more pleasant with less through traffic disrupting walking routes.
Footfall
6.10 There are no council run footfall counters in Cullybackey commercial centre presently.
Physical Structure and Constraints
6.11 The Flood Map (Map 29, Appendix A) shows limited incidences of any types of flooding within the commercial core.
There are several listed buildings, 1 site/monument and 1 industrial heritage asset located in the commercial core which may have some impact upon development in their vicinity, (Map 30, Appendix A)
Perception of Crime and Safety
6.12 The ‘Town Centre Database’, published by the Department of Communities does not report crime statistics for Cullybackey.
Environmental Quality
6.13 Cullybackey has a good standard of environmental quality with a good standard of footpath that runs on both sides of the Main Street.
Some mature trees and residential hedging help soften the townscape of this long straight road.
There are pockets of vacancy interspersed with housing and shops intermittently though the length of the small towns Main Street resulting in a lack of the sense of a busy commercial centre.