Henry Johnson, Department of Social Development (DSD)

  Henry Johnson spoke on the subject of Town Centre Development

Mr Johnson informed those present that although DSD was responsible for the refusal of the recent Queen’s Parade plans they are still committed to the redevelopment of Bangor’s Seafront.  The DSD has been working with the developer to bring about a resolution to the problems.

The refused plans, which were published last year, saw a vastly expanded development with an increase in retail capacity.  DSD feared, should these plans have gone ahead, the proposed entrance to an onsite multi story car park would have resulted in massive tailbacks stretching into High Street.  There were also concerns about the height of the development as it would have been in breach of height restrictions imposed by BMAP as well as the region’s environmental policy.

Mr Johnson said that “the consultation process has clearly demonstrated a need for some form of the scheme on that site - we recognise that this is not an island mall on the outskirts of Bangor, but one in a seafront location adjacent to a marina with sizeable tourism.”

The need for the development is further heightened by the fact that BMAP analysis shows that Bangor leaks £81 million to other towns and that many retailers have moved from the town centre to areas such as Bloomfield or Clandeboye Retail Park.  The proposed development will aim to reverse this trend.

Mr Johnson added, “the location Debenhams insists on would pull customers through the centre towards them. Visitors would therefore have to pass the other stores which would give the latter an increased economic viability."