{"id":517758,"date":"2025-04-02T12:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T11:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=517758"},"modified":"2025-04-07T10:02:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T09:02:54","slug":"frustration-over-delays-to-72m-northern-ireland-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/buildings\/frustration-over-delays-to-72m-northern-ireland-project-02-04-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Frustration’ over delays to \u00a372m Northern Ireland project"},"content":{"rendered":"

A minister in the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly has described delays to a \u00a372m waterfront regeneration project in Northern Ireland as \u201ca source of frustration\u201d.<\/p>\n

DUP communities minister Gordon Lyons said he had \u201cwaited decades\u201d for progress on the redevelopment of Queen\u2019s Parade in Bangor.<\/p>\n

It is almost six years since Bangor Marine \u2013 a consortium including developer Karl Group and contractor Farrans \u2013 was appointed to deliver the scheme.<\/p>\n

It was then expected to cost \u00a350m but the Department for Communities, which is leading on the scheme, now estimates the price tag is almost 50 per cent higher.<\/p>\n

Planning consent was granted in 2021 and local reports<\/a> suggested it would start on site last year, but data intelligence provider Glenigan has said it expects work to begin in mid-April.<\/p>\n

In response to a question about Queen\u2019s Parade at the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday (31 March), Lyons said there were still a few issues that needed to be \u201cironed out\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been delayed, which is a source of frustration to many of those involved. We have waited decades for the project to progress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am determined to make sure that it will progress. I am certainly doing everything that I can to make sure that the project progresses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Chambers, UUP MLA for North Down, asked if Lyons was \u201cconcerned\u201d that \u201creported changes in the make-up of the construction consortium delivering the project will impact on the commencement date, which was previously reported as being the end of April?\u201d<\/p>\n

The minister responded: \u201cNothing has been on my desk that makes me think that the changes to which the member refers are a matter of concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make sure that the outstanding issues are dealt with as soon as possible so that we can start construction. As I said, the good people of Bangor have been waiting for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scheme would see 6,500 square metres of office space, 137 apartments, a 66-room hotel and a cinema created in the coastal town, as well as public realm improvements.<\/p>\n

The Department for Communities\u2019 website says efforts to get it underway are ongoing and it is \u201cfinalising\u201d the necessary legal agreements.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeads of terms have also been agreed for the developer\u2019s proposals for the part of the Marine Gardens site that is in the Crown Estate\u2019s ownership,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Department for Communities said it was “still hopeful of a start date in late April 2025”.<\/p>\n

However they added: “Major proposals of this nature are very challenging and take time.<\/p>\n

“Prior to the Department for Communities\u2019 involvement, the various properties that are now part of the development footprint were in multiple ownership with no prospects of the area ever being developed.\u00a0 The project is now in its final stages, and the protracted negotiations with the Crown Estate involved balancing the needs of the Crown Estate with the commercial requirements of the developer.<\/p>\n

“Outstanding legals matters are almost finalised, with the council approving the deed of variation, which gives legal effect to the agreed changes to the development agreement, at its meeting on 26 March. This follows several months of work between Bangor Marine, Ards and North Down Borough Council and the department to resolve a number of complex legal issues.”<\/p>\n

Construction News<\/em> has contacted Bangor Marine for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A minister in the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly has described delays to a \u00a372m waterfront regeneration project in Northern Ireland as \u201ca source of frustration\u201d. DUP communities minister Gordon Lyons said he had \u201cwaited decades\u201d for progress on the redevelopment of Queen\u2019s Parade in Bangor. It is almost six years since Bangor Marine \u2013 a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87938,"featured_media":388517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n