BARRY’S: “I think Portrush has already too many apartments, it’s lost the soul of the town.”
Reports suggest Barry’s Amusements has been bought by one of Northern Ireland’s wealthiest housing developers
Last updated 4th Aug 2021
Residents and tourists in Portrush have hit out at reports that one of the North Coast's best known entertainment landmarks, Barry's Amusements, could be turned into a housing development.
The site, which sits on the Castle Erin Road seafront, was put up for sale by the Trufelli family in 2019.
However, in May 2021 Savills and Philip Tweedie & Company was appointed to re-market the famous tourist attraction as both a "going concern" and "a development opportunity".
It's understood the site has been bought by one of Northern Ireland’s wealthiest developers.
A spokesperson for the Trufelli family, who opened the business in 1926, said they will release a statement when and if a deal is done.
Doreen, a tourist from County Fermanagh, said she thinks losing Barry’s will be a huge loss to the area.
“Just kind of make it a little bit of a hot spot for people to come visit."
She said: “We have exceptional beauty, scenery, other lots of great facilities and apartments, well I don’t know what I think of all that to be honest.
“I think Portrush has already too many apartments, it’s lost the soul of the town.
“Coming here Barry’s was always the focal point, come and spend some money in the amusements, have a bit of fun and there was a meeting place for everybody.
“I just think the town has lost its complete character.
Oliva, who often visited the seaside town as a child said “a monument of Portrush has been taken away”
She added: “I went to Barry’s a lot as a younger kid.
“So, when I was a kid I lived in Antrim and then travelling up to the port you think of Barry’s being the only big thing to do when you’re there.
“I think they should have revamped it a little bit, like take out, what, some of the 30-year-old rides and put new ones in.
“Just kind of make it a little bit of a hot spot for people to come visit.
“I think it’s a little bit sad, I feel like everywhere in Portrush is now turning into apartments.”
Zoe, who was brought up on the North Coast echoed Oliva’s feelings and also expressed her disappointment at the news.
She said “I think it’s very sad, I’ve been brought up in Portrush and it’s quite sad and I’m sitting here looking at the roller coaster and the iconic structure of it and that’s what we’re going to lose is that view of it.
“Whatever development comes in it’s how much they bring to the town and how much people are going to invest back in the town and those people who come and stay in whatever developments there are, it's how what this infrastructure is going to be built up as, rather than being just a holiday resort.
“I think it’s a little bit sad, I feel like everywhere in Portrush is now turning into apartments.”
“I think we need to have a more strategic housing policy within Portrush so that people who are actually working and are running businesses in the town and need to employ people can actually have accommodation.
“And that young families are encouraged to come and live here because this isn’t just a resort.
“Those of us who were brought up here over years and years know this isn’t just a resort, this is home and the infrastructure and the schools everything else they don’t benefit from new apartments.
“I would like something for the community, I would like the Barry’s area, using it as a more 12 month a year venue so that you could have opened it at Christmas, as a winter wonderland kind of thing, or you could open it at Halloween and have a Halloween special and having things that actually could have developed into the town.”
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BARRY'S: famous amusements could become a hotel and leisure complex