After decades of delays, a £60m revamp of Bangor’s seafront is finally under way – with the people behind hoping it’ll dig in to future success for the Co Down city, transforming it into Northern Ireland’s “premier coastal destination”.

That’s the ambition of Aran Blackbourne from developers Bangor Marine, who got construction crews on site on Queen’s Parade last month.

His firm was formally appointed to build the regeneration scheme six years ago, only to get mired in red tape and protracted negotiations with both Stormont and a UK-wide body representing Royal property.

The revamp has been on the cards since the 1980s, and there have been so many false starts on the project since the turn of the century that the people of Bangor could scarcely believe their eyes when diggers moved in for its opening phase of construction.

placeholder image — Communities Minister Gordon Lyons gets behind the controls of a digger at the Bangor construction site of the Queen's Parade project, joined by Damian Mitchell of Bangor Marine, Mayor Gillian McCollum and Aran Blackbourne of Bangor Marine.

Mr Blackbourne now says he’s “delighted to be delivering real progress” on a scheme he believes will “put Bangor on the road to long-term and sustainable economic regeneration”.

“We are fully committed to ensuring that Bangor reaches its full potential with a development that returns the city to its status as a premier coastal destination for residents and visitors,” he added.

The city has suffered financial woes over the last 20 years, dealing with the collapse of its central shopping scene in the face of internet retail and a stormy economy.

Mayor Gillian McCollum says that Bangor has been buzzing since work finally began, stating: “It’s great to hear positivity and anticipation for the future right across the city.”

“We have worked hard for it, we have talked a lot about it, and we have anticipated it for quite some time, so I think I speak for many Bangorians when I say I’m delighted that the diggers are now on site.”

Visiting the site on Thursday, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the project “will be truly transformational for Bangor’s city centre and waterfront area”.

The first phase of the Queen’s Parade project will see a large seafront car park demolished to make way for a new pedestrian-friendly area. Apartments, retail and office space follow on the main body of the site, with a final phase constructing a cinema and tourist draw ‘destination building’. The project is supposed to be complete by late summer 2028.