Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council Meeting Highlights April 2026

The full council gathered at Mossley Mill on Monday evening for a meeting that covered everything from street naming and housing regulations to major drainage works and a new staff benefit scheme.

Before the formal agenda got underway, council members heard a presentation from David Compston of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Sustainable Drainage Directorate, joined by Azaria Bleakly from engineering consultancy AECOM.

The presentation focused on DfI's Urban Drainage Transformation Pilot Project. Members raised questions covering sewer discharges at Mill Road and Shore Road, how local residents would be consulted, what impact the project might have on housing developments, and the safety, design and long-term maintenance of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).

The presentation was noted by the council, and the representatives were thanked before leaving the meeting.

Two street naming applications were brought before the full council for a decision.

Jubilee Road, Ballyclare: A 56-home residential development at Jubilee Road needed a name. The developer, Simpson Developments, put forward three options rooted in local history.

An Ordnance Survey map dating from 1900 to 1932 showed the old place name of "Castle Sod" in the area, and the three suggestions, Castlegate, Castleton and Castle Demesne, all drew on that heritage.

The council approved Castlegate as the chosen name.

Niblock Road, Antrim: A much larger development of around 500 homes on Niblock Road had previously been sent back to the developer at a February 2026 council meeting.

New proposals came forward in late April, including Rathmore, Fortview and Rathview, all linked to an archaeological dig that uncovered a historic ringfort on the site. However, each of these names already existed elsewhere in the borough.

Rather than selecting from the developer's list, the council chose an alternative name of their own: Crannog, a nod to the site's archaeological significance.

One of the meatier items on the agenda related to Houses in Multiple Occupation, better known as HMOs.

These are properties rented out to three or more people from different households, such as student lets or shared houses.

The Northern Ireland HMO (NIHMO) Unit, which is run by Belfast City Council on behalf of all 11 councils in Northern Ireland, manages the licensing scheme for these properties.

The cost of running the service has grown, and the licence fee needed updating to keep pace.

The maximum permissible fee was raised by legislation in 2025, moving from £45 per person, per year up to £75.

However, separate legal rules mean councils can only recover the costs directly linked to processing licence applications, not wider enforcement and management activity. That calculation works out at £62 per person, per year, which is the figure the council agreed to adopt from 1 April 2026.

The fees for changing an existing licence also changed:

There are currently only 15 known HMOs across the Antrim and Newtownabbey borough, representing a very small fraction of total housing stock.

Members also discussed whether a specific planning policy on HMOs was warranted but were advised that the evidence base is not yet strong enough to justify one, and that introducing such a policy could delay other parts of the council's Local Development Plan.

The council additionally agreed to write to the Department for Communities calling for the introduction of supplementary fees, including non-compliance fees and fit and proper person fees, to help plug the funding gap that current legislation creates.

Anyone who has played golf at the Ballyearl Driving Range or used the Mossley Pitches for football will know that waterlogged conditions have been a recurring problem.

The council approved the appointment of Haffey Sportsground Ltd as the principal contractor to carry out full drainage works across both sites.

The two projects were combined into a single contract given how similar they are in scope. Consulting engineers Hanna and Hutchinson are managing the design.

Six contractors submitted tenders, and Haffey Sportsground Ltd came in with the lowest price, which was independently assessed as competitive and good value for money.

The financial figures were redacted from the public minutes, but members were told the total predicted cost came in higher than original estimates, partly because the detailed design phase expanded to include water attenuation infrastructure, associated civil works, and the impact of general inflation.

Works are expected to begin in May 2026 and complete by September 2026. The Chief Executive gave assurance that football pitch maintenance standards across the borough would be upheld during the works, and that the Parks team would work with drainage contractors to embed best practice maintenance recommendations from the outset.

A more internal piece of business saw the council approve an updated Car Leasing Scheme for its employees.

The arrangement, run through NHS Fleet Solutions, allows staff to access private car leases through a salary sacrifice arrangement that complies with HMRC rules on tax and National Insurance.

The scheme was originally approved in July 2025 and the policy signed off in September of that year.

This update revised the eligibility conditions to keep the scheme current. There is no direct cost to the council, as the expense is recovered through salary deductions and savings on employer National Insurance contributions.

The meeting ran from 6.30 pm to 7.50 pm. Before closing, the Mayor extended condolences on behalf of the council to Alderman Bradley and Alderman Ross following the recent passing of Alderman Bradley's mother.

The next edition of these meeting recaps will cover upcoming committee meetings as they are scheduled.

If you have questions about any items discussed, the full draft minutes are available through Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council's official channels.

You can read the full minutes of the April 2026 meeting here.

Also, click here, if you would like to read the summary of the minutes from previous council meetings in an easy to understand format.

Source: Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council