The developers behind the long awaited £50million revamp of Queen’s Parade in Bangor say they are keen to start construction as soon as possible but there are still a number of challenges to resolve.
The regeneration of the Queen’s Parade area of the new Co Down city was announced last year, after a two year hiatus caused by Stomont.
Large parts of the site, which occupies a prominent position overlooking the main Queen's Parade coastal road and Bangor Marina, have been derelict for decades and the area has long been seen as visually unattractive and having a detrimental effect on tourism and trade.
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In March of last year, Bangor received a welcome boost with news that the regeneration project had finally been given the green light. The project had been held up in a Stormont department for over a year due to flooding concerns.
Ards and North Down Council initially proposed to approve Bangor Marine’s planning application in January 2021 but because of an objection by a statutory consultee, this decision had to be reviewed by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI).
This process took 13 months before DfI then returned the planning application to council and required a ‘pre-determination hearing’ to be held, to enable any interested party the opportunity of speaking to the members of the Planning Committee, prior to it making a formal decision on the application.
The required meetings took place last July when members voted unanimously to approve Bangor Marine's planning application.
In an update on the start of construction work, Aran Blackbourne of Bangor Marine said: “We recognise that there is a high level of public interest in the redevelopment of Queen’s Parade and we are keen to get construction started as soon as possible.
“Since gaining planning consent for the project, we have been working hard with all stakeholders with the intention of beginning work on the Marine Gardens public realm phase this summer.
“The award of £9.8m from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund was very welcome news but there are still a number of challenges to resolve ahead of mobilising on site.
“One key area is ecology and we are lining up all appropriate surveys to ensure that we comply fully with the appropriate guidance.
“Depending on the findings of the surveys, some aspects of our programme may be moved into autumn, however we remain hopeful that we will be on site this summer.
“As with all major schemes, there are many parts to pull together at one time and it is important that we get this right.”
The proposed scheme will see extensive work to a run-down area of the city. It aims to transform the seafront area and those living there have been waiting more than 20 years for the site to be redeveloped.
It will involve the building of new homes, a 66 bedroom hotel, a cinema and leisure facility, a public realm scheme, new streets, an events space and new cafes and restaurants.
The former B&M Bargains, Oxfam and Hospice shops on Main Street will be demolished, as well as other buildings on King Street, Southwell Road and Queen's Parade.
The developer said the project will create around 100 jobs per annum during construction and 700 further roles once "operational."
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