{"id":528743,"date":"2025-09-16T12:45:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T11:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=528743"},"modified":"2025-09-16T08:55:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T07:55:25","slug":"cost-of-ni-regeneration-scheme-could-double-to-100m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/buildings\/cost-of-ni-regeneration-scheme-could-double-to-100m-16-09-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost of NI regeneration scheme ‘could double to \u00a3100m’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A long-awaited overhaul of a waterfront project in Northern Ireland could cost more than double its original estimate, a council meeting has been told.<\/p>\n

Ards and North Down councillor Chris McCracken said the price of the Queen\u2019s Parade regeneration project in Bangor could end up in excess of \u00a3100m.<\/p>\n

A joint venture, known as Bangor Marine, between Farrans and property developer Karl Group was set up in 2019<\/a> to deliver the project, which was then expected to cost \u00a350m in four phases.<\/p>\n

Plans included the demolition of existing buildings in the seafront town and construction of a hotel, apartments, an events venue, a cinema, and office and retail space.<\/p>\n

Planning consent was granted in 2021 but the scheme has struggled to get off the ground. A Northern Ireland minister earlier this year<\/a> expressed \u201cfrustration\u201d at delays to starting on site.<\/p>\n

In June, Belfast developer Oakland Holdings bought Farrans\u2019 share<\/a> in Bangor Marine and acknowledged the hold-ups in getting spades in the ground.<\/p>\n

The new joint venture last month pledged<\/a> to \u201cput the delays of the past behind us and move forward\u201d with \u201creal progress on site\u201d from the end of August. Portadown-based MSM Contracts has been brought in to deliver the first phase of works, which are predominately on parkland and public realm.<\/p>\n

McCracken welcomed this update but told Ards and North Down Borough Council that it had to \u201cacknowledge the damage done to public confidence by long delays\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added that the cost of the scheme had soared.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers will be aware that a figure of \u00a350m investment for Queen\u2019s Parade has been floated… that figure needs to be updated. It relates to 2019 and six years have gone on,\u201d he told the council\u2019s Place and Prosperity Committee on 4 September.<\/p>\n

\u201cConstruction inflation is a minimum of 50 per cent and quite possibly more so by the time this project gets underway more seriously…. in the years to come you could be looking at \u00a3100m investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, if Bangor Marine adjusts the plans, it could be even greater.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCracken added that funding still had to be found for the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is some confusion that this \u00a350m is sitting in an account somewhere. The reality is that it is all private capital that needs to be raised. We need to really talk up Bangor and the waterfront investment with private developers to raise that money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no doubt Oakland Holdings will have many ideas but the council needs to be a significant partner in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Bangor Marine said the joint venture was \u201cdelighted\u201d that construction had begun on the project.<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cPhase one of the project will transform the seafront, providing 5 acres of parkland, which will act as the vital link connecting Bangor\u2019s new retail centre with the marina edge, offering a stunning location for residents and visitors to explore and enjoy.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Phase two will deliver residential and retail buildings, followed by a new hotel in phase three and additional housing in the final phase.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cBangor Marine will assess, on an ongoing basis, the size of the overall financial investment required,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Northern Ireland Department for Communities said in a statement that it had invested over \u00a310m in the scheme to date, including acquiring land, compensating property owners and maintaining the site.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThis cost has been partially offset by almost \u00a33m in receipts from rental income from the commercial properties that the department acquired,\u201d it added. \u201cThe scheme has also received UK Government funding of \u00a39.8m for the Marine Gardens Public Realm.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A long-awaited overhaul of a waterfront project in Northern Ireland could cost more than double its original estimate, a council meeting has been told. Ards and North Down councillor Chris McCracken said the price of the Queen\u2019s Parade regeneration project in Bangor could end up in excess of \u00a3100m. A joint venture, known as Bangor …<\/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,"footnotes":""},"categories":[547,558],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-528743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buildings","category-contracts"],"yoast_head":"\nCost of NI regeneration scheme 'could double to \u00a3100m' | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A long-awaited overhaul of a waterfront project in Northern Ireland could cost more than double its original estimate, a council meeting has been told.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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