Senior council staff represent borough at Florida conference, as £95k London investment event is discussed behind closed doors

SENIOR council staff, including Chief Executive Richard Baker, have represented Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough at a conference in Florida in recent weeks.

A spokesperson for the council confirmed: “As winner of the Overall UK Council of the Year 2024, and a finalist for the 2025 award, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council was proud to participate in, and present at the 2025 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Conference in Tampa.

“As a member of the ICMA, the Council values this conference as an opportunity for global networking and for gaining fresh insights into innovation, behavioural science, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and community engagement.

“These learnings will further strengthen our leadership role and reinforce our ongoing commitment to enhancing services and delivering better outcomes for residents across the Borough.”

According to its’ website, the ICMA Annual Conference 2025, which took place from October 25-29th, set a new record with more than 5,400 registered attendees.

Individuals gathered from 24 countries and 1,673 communities to experience ‘four days of education and networking and to take a look at what’s hot and new in the local government field’.

Also in attendance were Director of Estates and Recreation Matt McDowell, Head of Arts, Culture, Events and Tourism Simon Goldrick and Ronan McKenna, Head of Community Development.

The news comes as it was revealed that Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council was represented at 40 events outside Northern Ireland during a two-year period, according to a Freedom of Information response.

Meanwhile, updates on the council’s ‘investment event’ in London next month continue to be held behind closed doors.

The latest update was due before an ‘in confidence’ section of the Economic Development Committee meeting this week, closed to the public and Press.

Minutes from the previous meeting are scant on detail, saying: “The Director of Economic Development and Planning provided Members with a verbal update on the London Investment Event, noting that the date had been rescheduled to 10th December 2025.

“Members will now travel on 9th December 2025. The event is set to take place at the Terrace in Westminster with anticipated sponsorship from our three MPs.”

The Antrim Guardian revealed earlier how £95,000, had been set aside for the event.

Meanwhile, at this month’s meeting, it was due to be revealed that for the period 6 April 2025 to September 2025, the Economic Development and Planning Directorate had a favourable variance of £258k, or 21.5%, against the budgeted financial performance for the period.