Larne Bingo Ltd has submitted proposals to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to open a new arcade in Larne town centre, hoping to revitalise an area blighted by the exit of major retailers.

The plans concern a former Poundland unit in Murrayfield Shopping Centre on Point Street, which has remained vacant since 2021, when the company relocated to another site vacated by New Look.

“A copy of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s ‘Town Centre Health Check’ report 2024 was uploaded to the Northern Ireland planning portal with the application,” wrote Northern Ireland World. “It reports the findings of land use surveys which were carried out in March of last year.”

“The report shows ground, first and second floor uses for units in Larne town centre at the time. Of these, 60 were retail services; 45 were leisure services; 21 were finance and business; 12 were convenience; 72 were vacant and others had more general use. There were 277 in total. By comparison, there were 290 units in 2018, of which 62 were vacant.”

The increase in retail vacancies on the high street is not limited to Larne, however the report added that 72 vacancies was equivalent to a proportion of almost 26 percent, which was “well above the Northern Ireland average” of 20.12 percent.