2025:403 - Clare Road, Ballycastle, Antrim

Planning permission was granted for a replacement dwelling as Policy CTY3 by Causeway Coasts & Glens Council at 68 Clare Road, Ballycastle, with conditions attached in respect of Cultural Heritage matters. These included the agreement and implementation of a developer-funded programme of archaeological works, to include provision for the archaeological monitoring of the demolition of the building once it had been recorded, and test trenching of the footprint of the house, to identify and record any archaeological remains in advance of new construction, or to provide for their preservation in situ, as per Policy BH 4 of PPS 6. In addition the conditions required that the upstanding building should undergo a Level 3 Historic Building Survey as per the Historic England document Understanding Historic Buildings A Guide to Good Recording Practice (2016) as part of this programme of archaeological works.

The results of the level 3 survey noted that the desk-top assessment identified that the building, which had originally been two conjoined houses, was within the demesne of Clare Park and had originally housed the steward and gardener. The site inspection showed that, despite some modernisation and alteration, the main elements of the house/s remained unaltered.

The follow-up licensed archaeological works, which took place between 3 and 7 November 2025, confirmed the conclusions of the Level 3 survey, with the building fabric suggesting two conjoined houses, later internally modified, but largely unaltered in plan. The test trenching of the footprint of the proposed new-build and associated service line, did not uncover anything of archaeological interest.