Stephen Nicholl

Climate of fear in parts of Ballymena must be brought to an end Ulster Unionist Councillor Stephen Nicholl has called on police, courts and agencies such as the Housing Executive to bring to an end the climate of fear created by the presence of drug dealers in parts of Ballymena. “It’s becoming apparent that drug dealers are becoming more brazen in their activities and as a result local communities are living in fear of the crime and anti-social behaviour that accompanies their activities. The police and other statutory agencies are well aware of the dealers and suppliers as well as the heart-breaking results of their activities. We see daily the effect of their dealing on those addicted to drugs but less obvious is the impact on local communities where violence and the threat of violence goes hand in hand with the dealers activities. As a society we have a responsibility to protect the innocent; that means a robust policing response where intelligence indicates illegal

“As a council we approach the setting of the rates for 2018/2019 in a crisis, albeit one that is temporarily deferred due to the extensive use of council reserves. The loss of rates income due to the reduction in energy production at Kilroot and Ballylumford is estimated at £1.3 million next year and £2 million every subsequent year. It is also fair to say that there were significant issues with council’s budgetary process even before the Kilroot announcement. Council had a target of raising £1.5 million through efficiency savings in 2018/19, with a loss of £1.3 million we realistically must save £2.5 million to replace the reserves used this year. We cannot assume that there will not be significant losses in future years. During the meeting to set the rates Cllr Gaston identified savings of £1 million and sought to use these to have the rates rise reduced. The cost savings he identified are broadly reasonable and should be taken forward. But they are not enough, the propos