Located on the outskirts
of Ballymena, the ward of
Ballykeel ranks as one of
the most deprived within
Northern Ireland. It has
high deprivation levels and
problems with housing,
education and crime,
resulting in low enterprise
activity.
Adding to this backdrop
was a wide range of
other factors all making
the area unattractive to
entrepreneurs and business
investment. Negative media
stories about the area
often made the headlines
at both local and regional
level, contributing to the
perception of Ballykeel as a
poor choice of place to start
a business.
This meant any enterprise
project in the area was seen
as a great risk. Despite best
efforts of a small number
from within the community,
who were actively devoting
their voluntary time to
make Ballykeel a better
place to live and work, low
levels of confidence within
the community and lack of
evidence of the community
working together made
it seem unlikely that
any organisation would
be prepared to invest
substantial amounts of
money to support enterprise
in the area.
The success of Ballykeel
has required a great deal of
determination and patience,
and has been a slow growing
process. To address the
perception issues, every
opportunity has been
celebrated, no matter how
small, and good news stories
publicised. Awareness of the
opportunities that enterprise
could bring was raised
through partnerships with
Ballymena Borough Council
and Ballymena Business
Centre. Activities, such as
workshops, promotions
and information leaflets,
were targeted at everyone,
including key community
stakeholders. Over time, the
local community recognised
and understood the
benefits that an Economic
Development Project
focusing on the enterprise
theme could bring to the
local area. Once this stage
had been reached, Ballykeel
was able to move forward
jointly and create an
‘Economic and Enterprise
Vision’.
The aim of the ‘Enterprise
Vision’ was to unite the area,
so it needed to be easily
understood and accepted
– providing direction and
inspiration for the way ahead.
Seeking representation from
various community groups
and through joint workshops,
Ballykeel Business
Development Ltd identified
key words that embraced
collectively the community’s
ambition, and developed the
following joint vision for the
project:
Through the support of
Ballymena Borough Council
and Ballymena Business
Centre the project then
established detailed aims,
including helping to develop
private and community
enterprises, creating jobs at
a local level, and providing
suitable workspaces.
Once a potential location for
the project was identified
on waste ground where
the Primary School had
been formerly located, the
Business Strategy fell into
place. Key to the success of
this strategy was Ballykeel
Business Centre, a 10,000
sq ft development on the
allocated waste ground,
accommodating workspace
units, training facilities and
administrative support. This
waste ground was purchased
by Ballymena Borough
Council and transferred in
kind to Ballykeel Business
Development Ltd.
75 percent in Year 3 – to
include 70 percent of all
business tenants from the
local community. As well
as to create employment
opportunities for 30 people,
attract funding investment
of £600,000, to reinvest
profits within the Ballykeel
community, and be selfsustainable by Year 5.
this success, more waste
ground was secured and
transferred from Ballymena
Borough Council, as well
as an additional £3/4m
investment from Department
of Social Development and
International Fund For Ireland
for the development of 16
additional business units to
meet local demand.
Ballykeel Business Centre
was the first of its kind,
having no other local case
studies in deprived areas
within the North East
region of Northern Ireland
to compare it to. Opened
in 2002, the initial targets
were to generate occupancy
levels of 25 percent in Year
1, 50 percent in Year 2 and
However, the centre has
far exceeded these targets.
At the end of Year 1 the
centre achieved 100 percent
occupancy with 90 percent
of tenant businesses from
Ballykeel. Four of these
being new businesses
creating 39 new jobs in
total. On the strength of
On the strength of this new
second phase development,
local businesses have been
established. Currently the
centre has 100 percent
occupancy and has provided
sustainable job creation for
58 paid employees.
Melanie Christie Boyle,
Chief Executive, Ballymena
Business Centre highlights:
“This enterprise project
captures everything
innovation is about and
now acts as a role model
for other local community
developments. The approach
captured the confidence
of Ballymena Borough
Council and through their
intervention, support
was received from the
International Fund for
Ireland, Department of
Social Development and
Local Strategy Partnership
to invest in Ballymena
Enterprise Solution. Support
was also gained from the
Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, Invest NI
North East Region, Training
and Employment Agency,
Northern Bank and local
community associations.”
Ballykeel is now recognised as a model of best practice not only at a regional level
but also at a UK level. This social enterprise has delivered a sustainable solution
to economic and social regeneration in the Ballykeel area.