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Hotel's overnight demolition 'is 300 years of history erased'

Mike McBrideBBC News NI
BBC A large red sign reads Antrim Arms in front of a metal gate. BBC
The building was cordoned off more than a year ago over fears about its structural integrity

A council has ordered an investigation into the demolition of a derelict Georgian building in Ballycastle that was once the Antrim Arms Hotel.

It comes a year after an application to demolish the building, part of which is believed to date back to the 1760s, was refused.

Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council has confirmed it is investigating whether the demolition was legal.

Officials are due to visit the site on Thursday and the council said it was working with "other relevant organisations as appropriate".

A large digger is pictured over the rubble of a building. A large gap is visible between two exterior buildings and a number of cordons are in place
The site where the Antrim Arms Hotel once stood remained cordoned off on Thursday morning following the demolition

The property in County Antrim was cordoned off more than a year ago over fears about its structural integrity and shipping containers were placed outside it to protect pedestrians ahead of the town's annual showpiece event, the Ould Lammas Fair.

Concerns were previously raised that a £2m revamp of the town centre was on hold because of uncertainty surrounding the future of the building at the junction of Castle Street and Fairhill Street.

The Ballycastle environmental improvement scheme includes plans to upgrade the town's Diamond area and surrounding streets and was originally due to be completed by March 2027.

The former Antrim Arms hotel in Ballycastle town centre in September 2025. The large cream-coloured building has six front windows on each of its three floors and the sign above the front door says "Antrim Arms" in red lettering. There are two chimneys and vegetation is growing out of the guttering at both sides of the roof. Two of the front windows are boarded up. Steel safety barriers, decorated with old photos of the town, stand in front of the building.
An application to demolish the property was refused last year

At a hearing in January 2025, a judge acknowledged the site was dangerous.

The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS), which campaigns to protect and preserve historic buildings, had opposed plans to demolish the building and called for the owners to repair it instead.

'Nearly 300 years of history erased overnight'

Speaking to BBC News NI, John Anderson from the UAHS said he was deeply disappointed that a site of "historical significance" had been demolished.

The UAHS had been campaigning for repair work to be carried out on the building and pushed to have it restored back to its former glory.

"Nearly 300 years of history erased overnight," Anderson said.

"I do think it's a shame we have lost a building of such significance and importance to the local area and local people.

"We would much rather have seen the site repaired and are incredibly disheartened to learn of the demolition.

"Heritage cannot be replaced and, once it's gone, it's gone. We don't want fake heritage."

John Anderson is an older man with a long white beard and circular glasses. He is wearing a grey hat, a rain coat and a green zip up jumper. He is standing just in front of the disused building but the background is blurred.
John Anderson says the demolition has meant the local area has lost a building of historical significance and importance

In April, a family living next to the hotel was forced to flee their home after the listed building was damaged in an arson attack.

It took more than 40 firefighters to bring it under control.

BBC News NI has contacted the owner of the building and the Department for Communities (DfC) for comment.

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