Big day for Bangor as long-delayed seafront project launched

The plans include public realm work, apartments, retail and a hotel and cinema

After many false starts, the construction phase of the Queen's Parade project has been launched.

Once completed, it will include new homes, a hotel, offices, a market plaza, retail, a playpark, cafes and restaurants.

The seafront site in County Down has been derelict for almost 30 years and has faced years of planning delays.

Mayor of Ards and North Down Gillian McCollum said the project has been a "long time in the making".

'Buzz is building'

Speaking to Good Morning Ulster Ms McCollum said there was now a "real sense of optimism and hope" in the seaside town.

She said attractions bringing people to Bangor would allow businesses to have "a footfall that they can sustain their businesses with."

"The excitement is palpable," she said.

Ms McCollum added that she was "delighted that the diggers are now on site".

"With hoardings up, you can more easily appreciate the scale of the site and begin to visualise how different and inviting our waterfront will look when Marine Gardens is regenerated.

"This is obviously just the first step in the transformation of Queen's Parade but the buzz in Bangor is already building and it's great to hear such positivity and anticipation for the future right across the city."

Frazer Fulton said Bangor has been lacking this his "whole lifetime"

Frazer Fulton who lives in Bangor told BBC News NI he was "quite excited to see the end result".

"I feel like Bangor has been lacking something for quite some time, my whole lifetime," he said.

Laureen Rainey said she hopes she gets the "same people about here now, because the parking is not great now in Bangor"

But Laureen Rainey, who works in Bangor, says she is worried about a lack of parking while building work is ongoing.

"I hope, with it taken away, I get the same people about here now, because the parking is not great now," she said.

"Hopefully it's lovely when it's all built."

'The end of 2026'

Damien Mitchell of Bangor Marine Limited - one of the groups responsible for the project - said people would likely be able to access the first phase of the development "at the end of 2026".

Mr Mitchell said the waiting period was "a very long time, and no prime city centre like this should be sitting for 30 years".

"We are delighted to be involved in it, but no site like this should be sitting derelict.

"There was real frustration in Bangor amongst all the stakeholders, elected reps and the various parties involved."

Work on the project will begin at the end of June

'Truly transformational'

The site was bought by the Department for Communities (DfC) in 2013 and in 2019, Bangor Marine was selected as the developer for the project.

At that time, the developer was a consortium made up of Karl Group and Farrans, who pulled out before Christmas and have since been replaced by Oakland Holdings.

The investment is expected to cost £145m, with around half of that funding (£73m) coming from the Belfast City Deal.

The developer is investing £50m, £10m has come from the UK government's Levelling Up Fund and almost £10m has been invested by the department so far.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons visited Bangor on Thursday to view the construction work and said it "is great to see the work progressing at such a pace".

He added that the project "will be truly transformational for Bangor's city centre and waterfront area".

"There is much work yet to do, and I look forward to seeing the project progress into the next phases of construction," he said.

Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities Miatta Fahnbulleh said the project will "reinvigorate Bangor, reconnecting the city with its waterfront to create a real sense of place that people can enjoy and feel proud of".

What does the Queen's Parade project involve?

There are four phases to the development project

Construction on the first phase of the project, the public realm scheme, is hoped to start by the end of this month and run for 13 months.

It will include a new play park, two pavilions, kiosks with food and beverage offerings, an events space, and associated landscaping.

The second phase will be largely residential apartments and also retail. It is due to begin in October.

A hotel and office space will be included in the third phase. The fourth phase of more apartments and a cinema is expected to start in 2027, with completion due summer 2028.

Much of the Queen's Parade area is currently derelict

Timeline

January 1999: Outline planning permission for a redevelopment scheme in the Queen's Parade area is first granted.

In the coming years, the project will go through various redesigns, be held up by land acquisition issues and endure the property crash.

December 2012: The then Department for Social Development (DSD) agrees to buy the development site from developer Karl Greenfarm Properties.

2013: Approval to take forward the scheme is granted to the DSD, and work begins to acquire all the required properties within the site boundary.

July 2015: Planning approval for the development is awarded to the department.

May 2019: Bangor Marine, a joint venture partnership between Karl Group and Farrans, signs a development agreement with the DfC and council to deliver the scheme.

January 2020: The developers submit a planning application for the development.

February 2021: The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) issues a holding direction on the proposal over concerns about potential flooding at the site linked to a reservoir in Clandeboye.

March 2022: The then Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon confirms the DfI will not review the application, returning it to the council for further action, allowing the project to move forward.

September 2022: Full planning permission is granted.

Plans to overhaul the area have been discussed for decades

January 2023: The project gets a £9.8m boost from the UK government's Levelling Up Fund.

February 2024: Pre-construction clearance work begins, in preparation for what is billed as construction work beginning later that summer.

November 2024: It is announced that work is now expected to begin in January 2025.

February 2025: Bangor Marine's Aran Blackbourne says that "outstanding legal issues" mean the expected start date for construction work is mid-April.

May 2025: Bangor Marine tells BBC News NI that legal documentation is still being finalised. Later in the month, the council confirms that Belfast-based Oakland Holdings will replace Farrans in the consortium. It says the final legal documents can now be signed to enable work to begin on site.

June 2025: The DfC announces that work will begin on the project.

October 2025: The project is launched.