Early Christmas present for Bangor as first part of £60m Queen's Parade revamp 'back in public hands tomorrow'
It may only be Halloween, but Bangor’s about to get an early Christmas present with the first part of a £60m revamp of the Co Down city’s seafront.
The overhaul of Queen’s Parade, currently under construction after decades of delays, is due to put a section around Bangor’s landmark McKee Clock back into public hands tomorrow.
That’s according to reports presented to the city council this week, which state a large paved open space called McKee Arena will be handed over on October 30.
The move will enable Bangor’s Christmas celebrations to take place in the area, reports add.
State officials: “It is positive that the works to the McKee Clock Arena will be completed by October 30 and that the Christmas activities can proceed on this site.”
A council consultancy team has been monitoring works and checking that all specifications have been met by construction crews, the report adds.
The Queen’s Parade 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 a little over one year ago.
The first phase of the project saw a large seafront car park demolished to make way for a new pedestrian-friendly area.
In a controversial change, developers Bangor Marine decided a car park is needed, applying to build a new one over waterfront parkland.
Apartments, retail and office space are to follow on the main body of the site, with a final phase constructing a cinema and tourist draw ‘destination building’.