Kilrea-based Chic Ltd proposed the  plan for the £5.8 million Crankill Hotel, a 45,000 sq ft hospiality venue expected to create around 30 jobs.

The company is owned by retailer Kenny Bradley, who owns a chain of supermarkets and fuel forecourts across Northern Ireland.

The proposal centres on a site at 153 Crankill Road, some six miles north of Ballymena.

Mr Bradley previously developed the services operation on the busy A26 dual carriageway, which links Ballymena and Ballymoney.

Planning officials say they do not accept that safe vehicular access can be achieved for the proposed hotel.

In a report prepared for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s planning committee, planners said: “The principle and majority of the details of the proposed hotel are acceptable at this location.

“However, despite numerous attempts, the applicant has been unable to demonstrate that safe vehicular access can be achieved.”

The post Planners recommend refusal of £5.8m hotel bid next to Applegreen Ballymena first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The company’s coffee brand, Barista Bar®, provided ‘keep me’ cups and free beverages to core volunteers in the East Antrim area.

The Eco Rangers group was formed during lockdown last October by retired paramedic Abe Agnew (71).  What started with only a smattering of people has now grown to be a 1,400 strong group including 170 junior eco warriors who carry out litter picking across the East Antrim region, including Larne, Carrickfergus, Islandmagee, Ballycarry, Gleno, Glynn and Carnlough.

The Eco Rangers collect more than 20,000 pieces of litter each week with the most common items being bottles, tin cans and fast food wrappers.

Since the start of the pandemic, discarded items such as old masks, wipes and tissues have also become prevalent. The group isn’t funded and relies on partnerships and in-kind support from local businesses as well as Mid and East Antrim Council. The team also fundraises to help continue their environmental work.

Barista Bar® Brand Manager, Keavy O’Mahony-Truesdale said: “We were hugely impressed and humbled by the invaluable work of the Larne Eco Rangers and were thrilled to be able to support them by donating Barista Bar ‘keep me’ cups and pre-loaded loyalty cards so that volunteers can avail of a well-earned hot beverage of their choice in in participating SPAR/EUROSPAR/ViVo  stores in the East Antrim area.

“As a brand we are conscious of the impact single use coffee cups have on the environment and we encourage the use of reusable cups.  We launched our reusable cups in 2019 and now there are nearly 80,000 in use across Northern Ireland. They are a key part of our brand message and our commitment to being a sustainable brand.

“We are delighted to be celebrating this new partnership with the Eco Rangers on their first anniversary and want to say a big thank-you to Abe Agnew and all the volunteers for their time and hard work in improving the local environment.”

Eco Rangers founder Abe Agnew said: “It’s fantastic for volunteers to have access to a welcome cup of coffee from Barista Bar®, especially in their ‘Keep Me’ cups which is very fitting to our cause. Our volunteers can pop into SPAR/EUROSPAR/ViVo/ViVOXTRA outlets for a top up, especially as we head into the colder autumn and winter days. A single reusable coffee cup can replace 3,000 disposable cups and the Eco Rangers are pleased to promote their use in this way.

“Our Eco Rangers proudly carry out daily litter picking across an area of 650 square miles and have removed thousands of bags of waste material from the local environment in the past 12 months. We have been overjoyed to see the difference our work has made.

“We work closely with Mid and East Antrim Council who supply and dispose of the blue bags we use for litter collection. Building collaborative links with local government, businesses and communities is key to making significant changes in regard to waste and litter and so we are delighted to embark on this partnership with Henderson Foodservice’s Barista Bar.”

To become an Eco Ranger or to support the group in any other way, contact them at ecorangerlarne@gmail.com or via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ecorangersni/

Caption: Pictured with Eco Rangers volunteers is Keavy O’Mahoney-Truesdale, Barista Bar® Brand Manager, and Abe Agnew, founder of Eco Rangers.

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ShopMEA is a revolutionary new marketplace platform, which will put your business, and any special offers or unique product ranges, straight into the hands of consumers, and the best bit is that it’s completely free to register.

Designed exclusively by app developers bubltown, on behalf of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Town Centre Recovery Group, to support our local business community, ShopMEA is being launched this summer by Council and funded by the Department of Communities.

Special offers

Now is the time to showcase your business, and whether you have special discount days or loyalty rewards you want people to know about, this new app will provide the opportunity to escalate sales through exposure to a massive local audience.

By registering quickly and easily, town centre businesses in the Ballymena, Larne and Carrickfergus areas can update their own profile 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ensuring their customers have all the information they need to know about why their shop, restaurant, bar or beauty salon is worth a visit.

ShopMEA

The ShopMEA app is open to a maximum of 400 local businesses initially, and interest to date is high as momentum builds towards being part of this exciting new opportunity.

This is one of the many supports offered by Council to our businesses to be able to deliver the famous Mid and East Antrim welcome and hospitality safely and sustainably post-pandemic.

Shoppers and visitors have been enjoying supporting their local traders in recent months and it’s great to see the streets of our towns and villages come alive again this summer.

Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor William McCaughey, is encouraging businesses in the borough to register now.

“The ShopMEA app is really easy-to-use, regardless of your level of digital skill. It costs you nothing to join, gives you free promotion and provides access to a range of powerful features your customers will love including click-and-collect, local deliveries, scheduled deliveries and much more.

“Council continues to find new and creative ways of supporting our business community, and ShopMEA will help recharge the local economy with free promotion, powerful tools and dedicated support.

“If you’re interested in getting involved, but would like more information, please email Linda.Stevenson@midandeastantrim.gov.uk or speak to a member of the Town Centre team by calling 0300 124 500.”

Communities Minister, Deirdre Hargey, added “My Department has been working with local councils to help local businesses recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The ShopMEA App will provide a great opportunity for businesses in the area to keep existing and new customers updated on the range of products and services they offer.

“I would encourage town centre businesses in Ballymena, Carrickfergus and Larne to get involved, and maximise the benefits of this innovative offering, which will play an important role as we encourage citizens back to our high streets.”

Ballymena BID

Hugh Black, Ballymena BID Board Member and Tower Centre Asset Manager, said “The Shop MEA app and website will be a fantastic asset for local businesses in the Mid and East Antrim Borough to reach a huge audience of shoppers and reward them with discounts and offers all year round.

“The app has been designed with the latest digital technology and will keep subscribers informed with up to the minute information and its aim is to drive the regeneration of town centres who face many challenges in a changing retail world.

“Ballymena BID has been delighted to have worked in partnership with MEABC and other stakeholders to deliver this cutting-edge digital app and website.”

Visit https://join.shopmea.co.uk/ to see your business included in the ShopMEA app and website while initial spots last.

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Sean and Lauren Taylor registered their company, DessertCo, in 2019, and after experiencing the loss of Lauren’s mother and Sean’s redundancy from his sales management job, took the plunge to launch the firm in April 2020 by baking up a storm in the kitchen.

And in spite of the challenges and uncertainties of a global pandemic, DessertCo has flourished in the last 12 months, with the shop at Raceview Mill in the village opening in August 2020, and the demand for deliciousness causing the order book to fill to bursting.

Delicious desserts

The couple pride themselves on a mouth-watering range of high quality products, delectable desserts and delicious cakes for all occasions, and their passion and flair for creating something a little different for their customers has earned them a loyal fan base.

Sean credits hard work and long hours with the success of DessertCo to date, and encourages any business which needs that extra ingredient to move to the next step, to avail of the support available through Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

Through engagement with the Council’s Business Client Manager, Ally McGarry, DessertCo was matched with a specialist mentor on the Business Escalator Plus Programme – which is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) Programme – and the company was able to quickly review their operations and business model to respond to the new working environment and get strategic plans in place to grow and develop.

“The support allowed me to set aside time for strategic planning and growth. I would recommend a chat with one of the Council’s Business Client Managers and support on the programme. Take advantage of the help on offer. The team are top quality at what they do. If people want to grow their business, I would say go onto one of the programmes available through the Council.”

Business Client Managers are able to provide wrap around support by creating connections with other stakeholders and as such, connections were made for DessertCo with Stella Graham, Foodovation Manager at North West Regional College’s Foodovation Centre, who supported them to secure an Invest NI Innovation Voucher valued at £5k to assist them with further product development.

Innovate NI recognised DessertCo as a bronze level innovator, issued the company with a recognition certificate and an “innovator stamp” and as an added bonus, they will continue to provide the company with resources and tools to help companies continue their innovation journey through to commercialisation and value creation.

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