Barry's Amusements: No preservation status for site

Image source, Kenneth Allen/Geograph

Image caption, The famous Portrush amusements announced its plans to be sold off last November

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has voted not to issue a Building Preservation Notice on the Barry's Amusement Complex site.

The move came following a council planning committee meeting held on Wednesday evening.

The famous Portrush amusements announced its plans to be sold off last November.

UUP councillor Joan Baird voted against issuing the site with a Building Preservation Notice.

"The Barry's site is not of any architectural significance or heritage," she said.

"We should only issue preservation notices to iconic buildings, like the town hall for example, that have merit."

'I found the love of my life at Barry's Amusements'

Barry's Amusements in Portrush to be sold

Image source, Rossographer/Geograph

Image caption, Barry's Amusements has been a fixture of the north coast for 93 years

The site, which sits on the Castle Erin Road seafront, has been operated by the Trufelli family since its opening.

Barry's first opened in Portrush in 1926, after members of two circus families - Evelyn Chipperfield and Francesco Trufelli - met in Ireland and later married.

They continued to tour Ireland together before, in 1926, they were invited by the Railway Company to set up a permanent site in Portrush.