Anger at council's 'secret' £1m plan to buy playing fields for new Bangor cemetery
A council move to spend a reported seven-figure sum buying a suburban sports ground to build a cemetery, without telling the public about it, has been slammed.
The idea will see a new graveyard constructed in Bangor, but two DUP politicians representing the seaside Co Down town have lashed out after officials kept hundreds of nearby residents in the dark about the scheme.
The Co Down seaside city has been running out of space in its cemeteries for some time, leading the local council to hunt for a new location over the last few years.
Officials have now landed on the former playing fields of a major city school, Bangor Grammar, on Ballymacormick Road on the eastern edge of Bangor.
The sports grounds have been lying unused for more than a decade after the school moved to a new location. Bordered by suburban housing developments on one side and countryside on the other, according to MLA Peter Martin the site “was not on the radar” for a new cemetery until relatively recently.
Yet it is now the council’s reported pick, Mr Martin stating officials are “making moves to acquire the site” after agreeing the scheme behind closed doors – to the surprise of area residents, as no one living in those suburbs knew anything about it.
It’s not the first time Ards and North Down Council has been criticised for making secret plans to spend hefty sums of public money; a couple of years ago, there were widespread complaints when a £1.3m sculpture project on Bangor’s seafront was suggested and approved at a series of meetings that were all kept in the shadows. Details only emerged when the scheme was exposed by the press.
The plans for the playing fields carry a reported price tag of roughly £1m, with both Mr Martin and Bangor’s deputy mayor James Cochrane calling on the council to hold off on buying them.
Said the MLA: “This not how the council should engage when making such a significant decision.
"A cemetery requires significant infrastructure – a road throughout to service it, paths, a car park and intensification of use.
“My preference for the site would be public park that embraces the natural area and protects that rural landscape wedge.
“I would urge the council to rethink their approach, consult with local residents and consider other more appropriate sites for the new cemetery.”
Mr Martin also described the countryside next to Ballymacormick Road as “an important landscape wedge” between Bangor and the nearby village of Groomsport, arguing it shouldn’t see major construction projects.
The city’s deputy mayor also criticised council officials for keeping the public in the dark, while pointing out that the local authority doesn’t yet have planning permission to actually build the graveyard. If planners reject the idea, Mr Cochrane said, the council could be lumbered with a pricey plot of land it can’t do anything with.
A spokeswoman for Ards and North Down Council said officials had landed on the playing fields after ruling out around 30 other locations, and the process involved “expressions of interest from landowners”.
She added: “Once legal processes have been completed, the council will progress a planning application for the site. Public consultation will form part of the planning process, providing residents and other stakeholders with an opportunity to consider and comment on the proposals.”
The spokeswoman did not confirm or deny the reported £1m price tag for the project, stating it “would not be appropriate to comment further” while legal process continue.