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\n The former Dunnes Stores building in Larne, Co Antrim Danny Donnelly<\/p>\n
A CO ANTRIM politician is staging a one-man sit-in at the Dunnes Stores headquarters in Dublin over a derelict building in his town that has been idle for over seven years.<\/p>\n
Dunnes Stores on Main Street in Larne closed in the autumn of 2019 and has been shuttered ever since.<\/p>\n
Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly said that ever since, locals, politicians and business people have been trying to engage with Dunnes Stores on the empty premises but have been \u201cmet with silence\u201d.<\/p>\n
\n The former Dunnes Stores building in Larne, Co Antrim Danny Donnelly<\/p>\n
Danny Donnelly\n<\/p>\n
After years of \u201cunanswered emails, letters and requests for meetings,\u201d Donnelly today travelled to the Dunnes Stores HQ in Dublin city centre to deliver a letter in person in the \u201chope this will finally lead to a conversation\u201d.<\/p>\n
He has been in the reception of the Dunnes Stores HQ for over five hours but has yet to meet any senior officials.<\/p>\n
I am in Dublin today to deliver this letter to @dunnesstores<\/a> CEO Margaret Heffernan and to request a meeting with whoever is responsible for properties in NI. It has been 7 years since Dunnes left Larne and the town centre building has been vacant and increasingly derelict since. pic.twitter.com\/0XWfz5UenK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Danny Donnelly MLA (@DannyDonnelly1) July 24, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n The only people he has spoken to so far were the receptionist and the head of security, who he describes as \u201cboth very nice\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nice receptionist let \u2018them upstairs\u2019 know that I am here and hoping to speak to someone about their empty premises in Larne,\u201d Donnelly posted to social media.<\/p>\n The Journal visited Donnelly as he sat in the reception and he said that when Dunnes closed it Larne, \u201cthey closed very quickly and left in a matter of weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shutters came down in 2019 and it\u2019s remained on sale since and the shop has become very, very derelict.\u201d<\/p>\n Donnelly said it has been broken into several times, people have attempted to start fires outside it, and that it is \u201cjust a real eyesore in the town\u201d.<\/p>\n He added that the car park attached to the empty store has \u201cbecome a regular location for antisocial behaviour, including public drinking and drug use\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven there is a nursing home directly above the former store, the potential consequences do not bear thinking about,\u201d said Donnelly, who added that \u201cpeople and businesses in Larne are furious\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s getting more and more derelict, the canopy is falling to pieces and that had to be reported to the council\u2019s building control in order to get them to come and repair it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to come down at some point, potentially on top of somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n In the letter that Donnelly had addressed to the chief executive of Dunnes, he writes that he \u201cfully accepts that what ultimately happens to the site is a commercial decision for Dunnes Stores\u201d.<\/p>\n However, he adds: \u201cWhat is much harder to accept is watching one of the most prominent buildings in Larne continue to deteriorate year after year while every attempt to start a conversation is ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n Donnelly told The Journal that \u201cI just want to have a conversation about what their plans are for this huge building that\u2019s affecting a lot of other businesses in the area\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cShoppers who want to come to Larne, they see this in the town centre and it\u2019s not attractive and it\u2019s not attracting them.<\/p>\n \u201cThis massive building in the town centre has affected the businesses around it.\u201d<\/p>\n Update – now more than 5 hours in @dunnesstores<\/a> Hq reception. The only people to speak to me were the receptionist and the head of security who were both very nice. https:\/\/t.co\/lXOHTCXsAu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Danny Donnelly MLA (@DannyDonnelly1) July 24, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Donnelly said he\u2019s willing to come back to the Dunnes Stores HQ to advance the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve handed in some letters to the chief executive and to some of the other officers in charge of the property at reception,\u201d said Donnelly.<\/p>\n \u201cThe lady at reception told me she would distribute them to the relevant people.\u201d<\/p>\n