A decision at Ards and North Down council has seen elected representatives poke fun at Bangor Castle being referred to as Bangor “City” Hall.
At the recent meeting of the Ards and North Down Council Planning committee, a decision to protect Bangor Castle from lightning had councillors teasing each other over what to call the A listed building.
Known for years as Bangor Town Hall under the control of the local authority, it has now been dubbed officially by council officers as “Bangor City Hall,” and referred to by some, but not all, elected representatives as such.
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In May last year Bangor was awarded city status as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, along with eight other towns across the United Kingdom. It became Northern Ireland’s sixth city.
However, not all councillors at Ards and North Down Council backed the Bangor bid for city status. The council is an amalgamation of the old Ards Borough Council and North Down Borough Council, created in 2015, and ancient rivalries from the legacy borough’s frequently come to the surface.
At the council’s April Planning Committee meeting held in Newtownards, the current name of the castle saw DUP elected reps poking fun at each other.
As the committee unanimously agreed a programme of works to protect the building from lightning, proposer DUP Councillor Alistair Cathcart, who represents Bangor Central, said: “I welcome the planning officer calling it “City Hall,” and I would have jumped in and corrected that if it wasn’t the case.”
Chair of the Planning Committee, DUP Alderman Robert Gibson, who represents Comber, said: “I thought we were in Belfast there for an instant. I joke.”
DUP Alderman Stephen McIlveen, who represents Newtownards, said: “I am very pleased “the Castle” will be protected in this way. For it will be the Castle long after we have moved out of there.”
Later, as the committee agreed on a panoramic wheel for the summer beside McKee Clock, Councillor Cathcart said: “It is good to see this application in our city centre.” Alderman McIlveen said: “I’m surprised we haven’t called the McKee Clock the City Clock.”
The lightning protection works at the castle will involve conductor tapes being located on roof pitches and on a number of surface mounted “strike plates.” Air rods will be positioned at chimney stacks and pinnacles, and a number of down conductors will be attached to the exterior of the building.
The castle was built in 1852 for the family of Robert Edward Ward, who served as High Sheriff of Down and was a brother of the third Viscount Bangor. It is presently the headquarters of Ards and North Down Borough Council, who use the mansion's spectacular grand salon as the chamber for their monthly full council meetings. The building is situated in the grounds of Castle Park alongside North Down Museum and is a short walk from the Walled Garden.
In March 2022, a £50 million regeneration project for Bangor was finally given the green light after being held up in a Stormont department for over a year over flooding concerns. The proposed scheme, developed by Bangor Marine Ltd, is seeing extensive work to a run-down area of the new city. It involves the building of new homes, a 66 bedroom hotel, a cinema and leisure facility, a public realm scheme, new streets, an events space and new cafes and restaurants.
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