A consortium including British architects FaulknerBrowns has been appointed as the preferred developer to regenerate Queen’s Parade in Bangor, Northern Ireland.
Investment manager Cubic3 is leading the group, called Angelvale, which includes a number of international entertainment and leisure investors and operators. FaulknerBrowns are the team’s masterplanners.
Queen’s Parade is best known as a traditional seaside holiday destination, and is surrounded by vibrant Edwardian and Victorian buildings and a popular marina. It forms an important part of Bangor’s town centre fabric, but the local council wants to redevelop the area to realise its full potential as a leisure and tourist destination.
Angelvale’s proposal for the phased £75m mixed-use development scheme includes zones for entertainment, retail and water sports, in addition to a new health and wellbeing centre.
At the core of the project will be an 80-bed signature waterside hotel and a public piazza linked to a new ?oating pontoon and water-sports centre in the marina, where visitors can receive instruction in water activities including sailing, canoeing and paddle boarding.
An existing waterside pedestrian route from the banks of Belfast Lough into the town centre will be extended, and cafés, restaurants, a cinema, a winter garden and multi-storey indoor sports venue are also planned.
The consortium has proposed a year-round calendar of events and festivals for Queen’s Parade. Cubic MD Roger Alexander said the proposed scheme “will deliver a revitalised place where all year round there will be improved opportunities to work, live, visit, socialise in and where culture and the economy can grow together.”
Paul Rigby, partner at FaulknerBrowns, said: “We’re excited to be working with the Angelvale Consortium, leading the design team of Richard Murphy Architects, Hamilton Architects and Arup, to deliver the bold masterplan concepts at Queen’s Parade.
“This scheme builds on Bangor’s existing strengths and legacy and our plans will deliver a 21st century seaside destination that will support the sustainability of the town centre for years to come.”
The practice are currently working on a number of leisure projects and masterplans, including
a futuristic water park in Coventry and
a major riverside regeneration project in Durham. Meanwhile, their acclaimed South Shields library and community building, The Word, was this week announced as one of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ 49 best new buildings in the UK.
