Community Safety & Cohesion

1. Encourage good relations by creating vibrant, shared, and cohesive communities within the Borough.

2. Improve community safety and confidence to enable people to feel safe and have a sense of belonging to their area.

3. Build the capacity of local communities to become resilient and self-sustainable.

4. Work with partners to provide support to vulnerable people who need it.

• Council celebrated Lunar New Year with a fun-filled event in People’s Park Ballymena. Residents across the Borough descended on the park to enjoy a variety of traditional Chinese crafts - such as calligraphy and lantern making, fun interactive sensory tasks, a themed scavenger hunt and the opportunity to taste wonderful Chinese tea and sweets.

• In January 2023, Council’s Good Relations Programme commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day with an evening of drama, poetry and speeches.

• Council and the Policing and Community Partnership (PCSP) worked in collaboration with the PSNI and NIFRS to encourage everyone to take responsibility for road safety. The call came ahead of Road Safety Week 2022 and aimed to highlight the dangers of speeding, and the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

• In March 2022, Council were awarded membership of the World Health Organisation Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.