Talks on electoral office closure plans

Councillors agreed at their June monthly meeting that the five-member delegation set up in May to meet the Chief Electoral Officer over the closure plans would next hold talks with Mr Wallace.

Council’s CEO Anne Donaghy told the monthly meeting that the talks with the Chief Electoral Officer last month were “very useful”.

Mrs Donaghy said: “Elected members there present highlighted very clearly their concerns in relation to the pending closure of Ballymena Electoral Office and made it very very clear that this council would be against that position especially in the light of an ongoing consultation on the wider reform of the electoral office. The members felt that the closure of the Ballymena office in this period of consultation would put this area of Mid and East Antrim at a disadvantage. The elected members present highlighted the importance of the local office and the great respect and regard that they held the staff in that office”.