Looking back... Headlines from June 1986

In a warning to all road users, a police spokesman said motorists who completely ignore speed restrictions in both rural and urban areas were putting the lives of others at risk. The move came as 440 speeding drivers had been noted for prosecution since January 1 in the Ballymena Traffic Branch area, which included figures from Larne. This was an increase of almost 100 since the previous year. Drivers were being reminded that schools would soon be off for the summer and that there would be more children than usual out playing. They were being asked to watch their speed at all times and to be particularly careful in the vicinity of children’s recreation areas.

•Meanwhile that same week in Newtownabbey, it was announced that plans were in the pipeline for the Edenmore Hotel in Whiteabbey to be turned into a private nursing home. Pastor James McConnell confirmed to the Times that objections from the planners looked likely to thwart the original proposal for the hotel to be bought over by the Church of God. It was known that the Sandown Nursing Home group were interested in the purchase. They had recently acquired the nearby Abbeylands Hotel on the Shore Road. Pastor McConnell said: “We applied for planning permission and we have always been very interested in taking over the premises. We had great plans to convert it into an old people’s home and build a new church on the site. We had provisionally agreed to move into the site in August. It now seems more than likely the deal will be off completely.”

•Meanwhile that same month, Cllr Stewart Dickson claimed that Carrick’s Mayor, Ald Jim Brown had already broken his promise to serve the best interests of the borough. Mr Dickson said the Mayor “missed a golden opportunity” to quiz the General Manager of the Northern Health Board, Mr Raymond McKay at a meeting of the Larne, Carrick and Newtownabbey District committee on the issue of Carrick Hospital, by voting with other unionists to adjourn the meeting.