Community Relations report reveals deep-rooted challenges and urgent need for change following Ballymena race riots
A community relations report into racially-motivated disorder in Ballymena in June 2025 reveals the particularly harrowing impacts on children, young people and minority communities living in the area. 41 out of 235 pupils in a nearby primary school never returned to the school.
Informed by the experiences and insights of people closest to the events, the report, Meeting, Mapping, Moving: Ballymena Recovering, points to years of unheard concerns on living conditions, poverty, lack of investment, absent landlords and rapid demographic change without adequate infrastructure, sufficient integration support or community preparation.
The report identifies urgent priorities for a safer, more connected and accountable Ballymena. It harnesses the local strengths, vital partnerships and existing community leadership which will be central to continuing to build community relations in the future.
The findings were gathered during an extensive community engagement process brought together by Radius Housing and facilitated by the Rural Community Network.
Through in-depth community consultation, the report’s facilitators sought to better understand the violent public disorder which followed in the wake of an alleged sexual assault on a teenage girl in the town in summer 2025.
The report examines what happened, why it happened, what helped and what must now change. It lays out lessons which, participants hope, can be used to rebuild local community relations and avoid a repeat crisis in the future. Learnings from incidents in Southport, Oldham and Bradford have also been considered.
John McLean, Chief Executive of Radius Housing said:
“Our understanding of the impact of the very disturbing events of June 2025 in Ballymena, both on individuals and communities, is made possible through the testimonies of those people who have bravely come forward to share their experiences and insights.
“While the report speaks to the fear, trauma and the profound sense of loss felt by so many, the invaluable insights gathered through this process have been used to establish a route-map to stronger community relations. The way forward must always be our focus as we continue to build and grow communities that thrive, right across Northern Ireland. We are indebted to every individual who shared their experiences so openly, to inform this vital piece of work.”
John McLean, Chief Executive of Radius Housing
Listening to communities
The consultation process listened to the experiences of residents in South Ballymena and across the town, local schools, frontline workers, voluntary and community organisations, and statutory agencies. The Report also specifically contains responses to a survey conducted by the Inter-Ethnic Forum, representing minority voices (of those who remained and those who fled), and contributions from 18 local young people engaged through Bytes, to ensure lived experience sat alongside operational and institutional perspectives.
The evidence shows the depth of the impact on school children and minority communities:
Harryville Primary School’s roll fell from 235 pupils on the Monday of the riots to 120 the following day, with 41 pupils never returning.
An Inter Ethnic Forum survey found that 76% of respondents had left Ballymena and, among those who left, 90% did not plan to return. They reported feelings of fear and intimidation.
Young people described feeling unsafe and unheard, some noting the lack of safe and structured spaces in which to discuss what was going on in their home town: “I got my point across… in youth club. School didn’t allow me to talk.”
Local schools were seen as safe haven for children whose homes were under attack, however, statutory restrictions prevented one school from remaining open beyond 6pm, leaving them no option than to ask pupils to leave. Hotel accommodation was arranged, at the expense of the school, for distressed pupils afraid to return home.
Housing and Landlord Issues
Housing issues and private landlord failures featured significantly in the report and the pressures were longstanding, well-documented and had not been addressed (housing conditions, absentee landlords, overcrowding and visible environmental decline); these, coupled with inadequate preparation or community support for demographic change, and deeply felt poverty and deprivation, ignited in June 2025.
Social Media Disinformation
Participants in the engagement process described how social media disinformation and people from outside Ballymena intensified the disorder, while long term residents and families who had built settled lives through work, school and friendship experienced fear, intimidation and displacement.
Statutory failures in listening and responding
In looking at the immediate response to the public disorder, the report reveals that systems did not join up in the way the community needed them to. Housing, education, health, employment and community safety operated in silos. There was no effective mechanism to act on community intelligence or monitor rising tensions, and post-event trauma support was slow to begin.
Report author Karin Eyben from Involve said:
“One of the strongest threads throughout the community engagement process sessions was ‘the failure of democracy’ and community frustration at not being heard. Residents from majority and minority communities alike said that they had raised genuine concerns, year after year, through formal channels that produced no response. It seems that this built-up frustration eventually boiled over and the consequences were devastating for the whole community.
“This report strongly indicates the need for genuine and inclusive grassroots community development work to give those most affected and least often heard, a mechanism to participate in decision making. This is less about creating new projects, but instead looking at how to build relationships and institutions that build trust.”
The Meeting Mapping Moving report contains 12 recommended ‘Directions of Travel’. These include calls for co-ordinated, accountable leadership to rebuild trust, monitor tensions, tackle disinformation and improve standards across housing and public services. It also urges sustained investment in young people and minoritised communities, stronger community-led and -informed emergency planning, employer responsibility and visible political and civic leadership.
John Read, Good Relations Officer from Northern Ireland Housing Executive said:
"The disorder experienced in Ballymena caused considerable concern and distress for many residents and communities. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive remains committed to supporting positive community relations, promoting mutual understanding, and fostering environments where everyone feels safe, respected and valued. Through our Cohesion and Communities Strategy and the ongoing delivery of the Shared Housing Programme, we recognise the importance of working collaboratively with local communities, statutory partners and voluntary organisations to challenge prejudice, reduce tensions and build stronger, more inclusive neighbourhoods. Acts of racism, intimidation and violence have no place in our society, and we remain committed to promoting respect, diversity and good relations across all communities."
Kate Clifford, CEO of Rural Community Network said:
“This report recommends that the specific actions needed to move forward from this deeply damaging community breakdown should sit within a minimum five-year recovery framework, with regular review points, transparent reporting and community accountability.
“No single organisation can be responsible for driving the recovery but there is a real need for a co-operative, proactive and cohesive response. The report presents the opportunity to turn the learning into visible action, stronger relationships and better systems for community relations – lessons which could be applied right across Northern Ireland.”