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Plush home of disgraced ex-DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson on market for £650k | Belfast Telegraph
The Co Down house that former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson co-owns with his wife Eleanor, and where they lived until his conviction, has gone on the market for nearly £650,000.
The four-bedroom property near Dromore, Co Down, is described b
A WEST Belfast man has joined the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) after being inspired by party leader Jon Burrows.
Tony Mallon, who formed NI People, recently stepped down as its leader.
"I have watched John Burrows taking over the party and liked what he is doing. He is very policy-minded instead of ideology and that is exactly the same as me," he told the Andersonstown News.
"I think he is hitting the right numbers and saying the right things. He hasn’t been afraid to do surgery on the party too.
"The party under Doug Beattie was moving closer and closer to the Alliance Party and John is bringing the party back towards the centre.
"I know a lot of people especially from West Belfast
A major Northern Ireland agri-foods company has entered administration - with the loss of almost 100 jobs.
Glens of Antrim Potatoes Limited has been growing and packing produce for supermarkets and grocery chains across Ireland for more than 50 years.
The business, which was established in 1972, operates from sites in Cushendall and Ballymena.
It has a popular hand-cooked crisps brand of the same name and supplies crisps for supermarket chains including Tesco.
North Antrim MP Jim Allister said the news came as a huge blow for the wider farming community.
He added: "It is very disappointing to see that Glens of Antrim Potatoes has gone into administration.
"This is a substantial blo
Londonderry: St Columb's Hall bought with £3.75m lottery funding - BBC News
One of Derry's most historic and culturally significant buildings is to be "sustainably redeveloped" after it was bought with almost £4m of National Lottery funding.
St Columb's Hall, a Grade A listed building, opened its doors in 1888 but its condition has gradually declined over recent years and in 2020 it stopped hosting events.
It has now been purchased by the St Columb's Hall Trust after it was awarded £3.75m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Anne-Marie Gallagher from the trust said it had been "a long road" to bring the hall back into communi
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89jgqn928xo
An iconic former department store that traded for more than 180 years before its closure could be transformed into a new cultural and community hub with a library and exhibition space, under new plans.
Austins, in the Diamond area of Londonderry, closed more than 10 years ago after the business went into liquidation.
Last year, the building, one of Derry's most recognisable landmarks, was bought by the Inner City Trust with the aim of restoring the listed building back to its former glory.
The applica
Today, SSE Airtricity announced an increase of 19.2% for gas customers, effective from 1 October 2026. This will impact around 204,000 domestic gas customers throughout the Greater Belfast and West gas networks, along with approximately 4,500 small commercial customers.
This means that the yearly gas bill of a typical household with a credit meter will rise by about £174 per year. Those customers with a prepayment gas meter (PAYG) will see their typical costs increase by around £172 per year.
Raymond Gormley, Head of Energy Policy at the Consumer Council, said: “From October, over 200,000 homes in Northern Ireland will see their annual gas costs increase, bringing the average annual
A Co Tyrone dairy firm now owned by Lakeland has been fined £115,000 for water pollution offences.
Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) in Artigarvan, Strabane received the financial penalties after three separate cases at the town’s Magistrates Court on August 13.
Read more
Lakeland Dairies and LacPatrick formally complete their merger
The business, which merged with Lakeland Dairies in 2019, was dealt £70,000 in fines for seven of
Detectives from Newry Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigating a breach of anonymity concerning a recent high-profile court case have charged a woman to court.
The 55-year-old was arrested in the Ballynahinch area on Tuesday 28th July, and has been charged with a breach of a lifetime ban on reporting the identity of alleged victim/s.
She is due to appear before Downpatrick Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 24th August.
As is usual procedure, the charge will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2026-04-21/revealed-stormonts-unsent-millions
Vicki HawthornePolitical Correspondent, UTV
Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 6:34pm
UTV can reveal that the vast majority of a £230million funding pot given to Stormont two years ago to transform public services has not yet been spent.
Stormont departments have confirmed just £9m of the fund given to the Executive by the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as part of the package for Stormont’s return in 2024 has been used so far.
That is just under 4% of the total fund and leading to questions as to how the Executive can say it has no money.
[**Public sector pay
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w4dzz92yxo
Plans to ban cars from a busy street outside Ulster University's Belfast campus have been dropped.
All vehicles except buses, bicycles and those holding blue badges were to be prevented from using part of York Street under the proposals.
Student leaders have expressed disappointment over the decision, saying that "safety is a real concern" due to high volumes of traffic.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said that following a public consultation it determined the plan "would not achieve the best outcomes for the local community".
The proposals for the section of York Street between Donegall Street and Great Patrick Street were unvei
According to official figures, 57 people have been killed on the road since 2006
Two Stormont departments have engaged in “gaslighting” by running a new case on any climate change impact from the proposed £1.7bn A5 road upgrade, a High Court judge has ruled
Mr Justice McAlinden hit out at what he branded an unfair, unacceptable and unprincipled approach by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
The scathing assessment came after he was asked to deal with newly raised points
Plans to extend the Belfast Glider route to the north and south of the city have been put back by a further three years.
It means if the already scaled-back rapid transit route does go ahead, it won’t be completed for at least another seven years.
It was originally intended to be operational next year.
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has revealed that the funding secured so far for extending the Glider service is at least £76m short of the £124.5 required. The cost of the project has previously been reported to be £148m.
Last year, the Sinn Féin min
A HMO application for a house in the Tates Avenue area by the Belfast Juice Jar founder has been rejected.
The application was unanimously refused by elected representatives at the January meeting of the Belfast City Council licensing committee, on the basis of overprovision in the area.
The application was for 65 Tates Avenue, by Remark Group, which is directed by Sam Shephard, a former Royal Marine and hedge fund manager from Armagh city, who owns the Juice Jar chain in Belfast and beyond.
Speaking before the licensing committee on Wednesday at City Hall, Mr Shephard ironically referred to himself as “the big bad landlord” and said not succeeding in the application would “halve” his ent
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz6yyq9ww7vo
A judge has adjourned a hearing in the sex offences case involving Lady Eleanor Donaldson, who is facing trial with her husband Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the former DUP leader.
Newry Crown Court was told her lawyers are awaiting the completion of a medical report.
The couple's trial has been postponed twice due to her ill-health.
They deny a combined 23 charges, which are alleged to have been committed between 1985 and 2008.
Sir Jeffrey, 63, is accused of 18 offences, including one count of rape.
Lady Donaldson, 59, faces five charges relating to aiding and abetting.
At a short hearing on Friday, Judge Paul Ramsey agreed to a defence reque
