Plans to reopen a major car park in the centre of Bangor have been dealt a blow after a proposal for the local council to run it was “turned down”.
Last August, it was announced that the Flagship Centre in the Co Down town was set for a major reboot after being sold in a multi-million-pound deal.
Local man Ricky McLarnon and his company Brookland Property took possession of both the 157,000sq ft centre on Bangor's Main Street and the 430 space car park.
Mr McLarnon said his first priority would be to get the empty shopping centre's car park back in use as soon as possible and he would be making an innovative proposal to Ards and North Down Borough Council (ANDBC).
Now Mr McLarnon's plans for the car park appear to have been halted after he revealed his proposal for the local council to run it was “turned down”.
He told Belfast Live : “I have always felt that the Flagship car park could make a significant contribution to solving Bangor’s parking issues.
“I sent a proposal to ANDBC’s ‘Regeneration, Development and Planning Directorate’ in July 2021 outlining an idea for the council to lease/buy the car park following an extensive refurbishment.
“This would include resurfacing and the installation of electric vehicle charging points, CCTV, 24-hour barriers and technology to run a permit scheme for season tickets, commuters and residents.”
Mr McLarnon said that as a Bangorian, his preference was for the council to operate the car park as it safeguards the long-term future of parking spaces in the town with all profits retained for the benefit of the ratepayer.
But he said this proposal was “turned down” in November 2021 and he was informed by the council that “the recent study of car park provision in Bangor indicates there is sufficient parking spaces at present”.
Mr McLarnon added: “As a result, Bangor now faces the prospect of losing hundreds of parking spaces around the marina without the ability to displace long term parkers via the parking strategy, adding additional stress on parking infrastructure that is already operating at capacity."
According to Mr McLarnon, ANDBC’s CEO and Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning subsequently expressed fresh interest in acquiring the car park in January 2022, but yet again no progress has been made.
He added: “Parking in Bangor town centre is soon going to be at breaking point, so this lack of progress is frustrating for local businesses, commuters, residents and ratepayers.
“Unfortunately, due to ANDBC’s procurement process, I have not been able to present my proposal to directly to local councillors as it has to go via the Director of Regeneration, Development and Planning, who rejected the initial proposal.
“With ANDBC’s Regeneration, Development and Planning Directorate having already had this opportunity for seven months I am now reaching the point where I will have to explore other avenues.
“Unfortunately for visitors and local ratepayers, this will include appointing a commercial operator who potentially could set parking charges at a rate higher than ANDBC’s £0.60 per hour cap.”
Mr McLarnon said that with its prime location, extensive indoor space and generously sized car park, the Flagship Centre was just crying out for regeneration investment.
During the 1990s, it was a key retail centre in the town spread over two floors anchored by Dunnes and with a thriving food court.
While the centre itself has been empty since early 2019, North Down Community Network occupied the adjacent unit on Main Street, which was also part of the sale.
Brookland extended the charity’s licence and more than doubled its footprint to 9,000sq ft.
In a statement, an ANDBC spokesperson said: "The Council received a proposal from Mr McLarnon, on behalf of Brookland Properties, for the lease of the Flagship car park. It was fully discussed by the council in October 2021.
"The initial ask from Brookland Properties was for £9.1m from the Council to take the Flagship car park on a 50-year lease. This included an offer of a contribution of £1.2m from the developer to provide EV points and improved facilities in other council car parks (it is understood that the centre was purchased by Brookland for £1.8m from the Administrator).
"The Council considered the proposal in the context of its recent Parking Strategy. This outlines that there are 25 publicly available off-street car parks in Bangor, 18 of which are owned by council. At the time of the surveys the overall occupancy was only 40%-60%.
"The town’s most popular car parks – mainly the free ones – were operating at 85% capacity, with 40% of this accredited to long stay parking. It is therefore completely inaccurate to state that car parking in Bangor is at capacity at present. Indeed, the strategy outlined that Bangor currently has sufficient car parking spaces.
"Given this context there could be no justification for council to invest that level of public money to lease the Flagship car park as requested by Brookland Properties at this time and Mr McLarnon received written correspondence advising him of this decision by the council.
"It is council’s understanding that Mr McLarnon has had an offer from the private sector to purchase the car park, and this is a commercial decision to be made by Brookland Properties. The charges to use the car park will, of course, be set by the market in due course.
"The council has an ongoing interest in the regeneration of the Flagship site and welcomed the decision by Brookland properties to purchase it a little over six months ago. Officers are currently working with Mr McLarnon to support him in his plans to revitalise the building and have assisted in negotiations with Land and Property Services, who are responsible for rate setting for the centre.
"It is disappointing that Mr McLarnon has chosen to represent the engagement between himself and council in such negative terms. The council remains committed to working with Brookland Properties to see the reopening of the car park and former mall as part of the ongoing regeneration of Bangor."
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