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

A council has said they are investigating 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.

In a statement, Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council has said it is investigating whether the demolition was legal.

A spokesperson said officials are "currently assessing whether the substantial demolition was in line with proposals submitted by the owner".

It is visiting the site on Thursday and working with "other relevant organisations as appropriate".

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.

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.

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."

Ciaran Dallat from the nearby Bella Jo Interiors in Ballycastle said it was "quite shocking" to see the rubble from the building on Thursday morning.

"It was just all of a sudden," he said.

"No one really knew what was happening and then we came down here to work this morning and it's gone.

"Last night I drove past and it was still erect and then now as I drove past it this morning it was reduced to rubble and the diggers are all going."

Dallat said it was "sad to see a historic building go", but said it "really was an eye-sore".

"All the other buildings around us there have had a face-lift and look really nice, many have fresh flowers outside them in the summer for locals and tourists.

"The building had weeds going out the roof, there was also issues with parking, streets were closed, so it is good and bad that it's gone."

Sinn Féin councillor Cara McShane believes there may be questions over what had been agreed regarding the demolition work and what has been carried out.

She said the building was of "historical and cultural significance" to Ballycastle, but that a recent report stated that the structure posed the "utmost danger to the public" and that there were safety concerns.

"There had been an understanding that there would be significant demolition of this building behind us, but what we can see this morning is that it has been entirely demolished, and that is of great sadness to many in the community.

"Council was considering a report that said the building was a dangerous structure, so, taking everything into account, there was an agreement or understanding between the relevant stakeholders and parties that there would be substantial demolition of the building, including quite a significant proportion of the gable wall."

Alliance MLA Sian Mulholland said it is "heartbreaking to see an iconic piece of Ballycastle's built heritage reduced to a pile of rubble".

"My party colleagues have been liaising with council officers to assess what has happened".

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 for an official response and also contacted the Department for Communities (DfC) for comment.