Ballymena: a growing hub

In many ways, Ballymena is performing well despite the recession. Peter Cheney reviews the borough’s economic prospects and local ambitions for its future development.

Ballymena’s manufacturing base, work ethic and strong performances in education all provide solid foundations for economic growth but changing conditions show that there is no room for complacency.

As the most recent Census of Employment figures show (see table), almost a quarter of the borough’s jobs are in manufacturing, with a fifth in wholesale and retail and a fifth in health and education.  The employment statistics for agriculture, forestry and fishing do not include the borough’s 2,238 self-employed farmers.
In 2010, the borough had 2,815 VAT and PAYE registered businesses, of which 830 had turnovers of less than £50,000 and 240 had turnovers of over £1 million, including 45 at over £5 million.

With a claimant count of 4.3 per cent in August, Ballymena has one of strongest local labour markets in the province; the regional rate stood at 5.6 per cent.  That said, the number of jobseekers has increased by 98 over the last year to reach 1,709 and the local council recognises the need for action.

Going forward, it has identified 10 key challenges for the local economy, including dealing with an expected decline in manufacturing, maintaining existing public sector employment and (where possible) securing additional employment from the new Mid and East Antrim District Council, strengthening and expanding the social economy, and expanding the area’s tourism base.

SDLP Alderman PJ McAvoy is enjoying his term as Mayor, the first time that a nationalist has been appointed as first citizen. His appointment followed a unanimous vote in favour on 7 June.

Ballymena, he points, has been “very fortunate” to have had high employment through its major factories and plants e.g. Gallaher, Michelin, Wrightbus and Moy Park.  The “great work ethos” is accompanied by the town’s good schools, on both sides of the community, whose high performance has been built up over the last 20-30 years.
McAvoy was speaking to agendaNi after attending a jobs fair, attended by many local young people.  He is concerned that employment is harder to find than in the past, when graduates and school leavers could go straight into a job.

The town’s prospects, though, are far from bleak.  Wrightbus’ 600-bus order with Transport for London is a good sign when business is going global and, he adds: “The publicity they got from the Mayor of London is certainly excellent.”

Kept “quite busy” as Mayor himself, he has found himself well-received and had the chance to meet visitors from Australia, Canada and the USA over the summer months.  Appointing its first nationalist Mayor has, in his view, helped the area’s image.

The attention given to the town by ministers and permanent secretaries is “very much appreciated” with Arlene Foster, Alex Attwood and Sammy Wilson being among the visitors over recent months and seeing the town’s progress.

As the Review of Public Administration is finalised, Ballymena has a “great working relationship” with Larne and Carrickfergus.  Community planning is a particular passion for McAvoy as it will make government agencies work together for the people.  “Get them into the one room, get them down to talk and nobody can pass the buck,” he states.

Ballymena people, of course, are known for holding their wallets tightly.  McAvoy laughs when the point comes up.

“That reputation goes out,” he adds, “but I think all you have to do is ask someone about what sort of people are Ballymena [people] when comes to giving to charities.”  In a warm compliment to his fellow townsfolk, he can say that they’re “not scared to give to things that matter.”

As the local Member of Parliament, Ian Paisley Junior was duty-bound to praise Ballymena and North Antrim in general in his maiden speech back in 2010.  He had hoped that the ‘city of the seven towers’ would officially be named as a city during his tenure as MP, although a charter has not been achieved as yet.

When the Wrightbus order was announced, Paisley Junior thanked the workforce for its skill and commitment:  “It is this kind of high quality and high value engineering which can ensure that Northern Ireland companies can compete with, and beat the best in the world, to secure contracts.”

The north east in the Regional Development Strategy

Efforts to promote Ballymena’s economy tie in with the new Regional Development Strategy, which identifies it and Larne as main hubs.

Ballymena is viewed as an excellent location due to easy access to Belfast International Airport and Belfast City Airport, as well as the ports of Larne and Belfast. It is also a significant retail centre complemented by tourism attractions such as the Giant’s Causeway.   Ballymena is estimated to need 6,400 new dwellings between 2008 and 2025. Larne will need 3,900.

With a natural harbour and the second largest port in Northern Ireland, Larne is in a strategic coastal location. Its position provides strong linkages with south-west Scotland; the town’s road and rail links form part of the Trans-European Network route from Cork through Dublin and Belfast to Stranraer.

The clustering of towns, to encourage co-operation, is highlighted in the strategy. With a drive time of less than 20 minutes between them, the strategy clusters Ballymena, Larne and Antrim.

Carrickfergus benefits from being on the estuary of Belfast Lough, and its waterfront development and historic castle.  Promoting the regeneration of Carrickfergus (along with Bangor) forms part of the goal of promoting urban economic development at key locations in the greater Belfast area and ensuring that sufficient land is available for employment.