Ballymena community “stronger now than before”, two months on from anti-immigration riots

Two months on, Clonavon Terrace and its surrounding streets feel like a ghost town. Houses that were torched remain boarded up, while a few properties still have exposed broken windows

Two months ago this week, riots broke out in Ballymena after a peaceful protest following the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in the town.

On the evening of June 9, the violence erupted after a group broke off from the main protest and made their way towards Clonavon Terrace, the scene of the alleged sexual assault. What followed was three nights of anti-immigration riots in the surrounding area.

The rioters smashed windows, burned houses, and battled with police in scenes described as “racist thuggery.” Dozens of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma families who fled from the immediate area have not returned after the disorder, and those that remain try to keep a low profile.

READ MORE: Ballymena teenager allegedly raped after being dragged into a garage, court toldREAD MORE: First person convicted of rioting in Ballymena gets four months in prison

The rioting was sparked by an alleged sexual assault on a teenage girl in the area by two 14-year-old boys, who appeared in court with a Romanian interpreter. A third suspect fled to Romania after the incident.

Now, two months on, Clonavon Terrace and its surrounding streets feel like a ghost town. Houses that were torched remain boarded up, while a few properties still have exposed broken windows. Many who once lived in the community have now left.

Returning to the area, we stopped by homes where we had spoken with residents before, to now find boarded up windows and furniture removed as they left the area. Many people we encountered were scared to speak openly about their experiences.

Speaking to Belfast Live, a Romanian woman who lives in the area, but wished to remain anonymous, said that families she was close to have fled after the riots. However, she is determined to stay.

She said: “I love my street, my house, and my neighbours. I’m staying here. The community is stronger now than it was before.

“I’m always talking to my neighbours, they’re all very friendly. A few families I was close to from Romania and Bulgaria have moved since the riots happened.

“There were kids out on the street rioting here – but it’s because there’s nothing for them to do here in Ballymena.”

One man from the area added: “The town has mostly returned to normal now. The trouble was going on for three or four nights, but everything is back to normal now.

“The protest was peaceful and happened for a good reason, but the rioting was just kids with nothing else to do, and people coming up to the area after seeing it all on TikTok.”

For nearby businesses, the rioting didn’t have too much of an impact. Studio 16 tattoo shop is located on Wellington Street, just a stone’s throw from where disorder began, with some of it taking place on the street outside the shop.

Manager Will McCooke said it was mostly business as usual for their shop and many others during this time. However, he is concerned about the impact the trouble has had on the perception of the Co Antrim town.

“I think people were watching the rioting happening on TikTok lives and were running down to the area to join in,” he said. “I was coming down here at eight in the morning, and it was business as usual, then I was going home at 5pm and everything was as usual.

“Then I would be sitting in bed and could see videos of people rioting in the street outside on TikTok. Then I’d come back in the morning and it’d be completely fine.

“But it’s interesting to see the impact this has had on the perception of the town. We have connections with people from all over, I was recently at an event in Cork and mentioned I was from Ballymena and someone said ‘it’s rough up there, isn’t it?’

“You get embarrassed, for a town this small to be making such an impact to something that isn’t a positive story, and straight away it’s what people remember it for.”

Much of the town has now returned to a new sense of normality, where flags flying from houses and “locals live here” signs in front windows exist alongside a bustling town centre with people visiting the many independent retail shops.

Since the disorder, Mid and East Antrim Council has written to Stormont asking for help with the development of a strategic reset plan to support long-term recovery in the area, including dealing with “inclusion, cohesion and rebuilding trust within our communities,” as the council’s interim chief executive, Valerie Watts, said.

She added: “Fundamentally, what is required is a strategic plan to help reset communities and move on, but also learn from what did take place.

“I think the plan should also address wider societal issues and policies such as immigration or housing policy or policies clearly ending violence against women and girls, race relations.”

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