By Iain Gray
Thousands of locals back venue as £1.3m restoration carries public vote
“KNOWING we had 5,000 people behind us, that’s as important as the award – even more so, in fact. We’re delighted.”That’s the reaction of one of the Open House team after they beat a host of provincewide projects to win a prestigious award, voted for by the public, for their restoration of Bangor’s Court House.
Just a few years ago, the Quay Street building was derelict, out of use since a 2013 round of budget cuts shuttered the local magistrates court and shifted all legal dealings to Newtownards.Despite being listed for protection, the seafront building was rapidly falling victim to the elements and had been registered as at risk of being lost. In October 2022, it reopened as a venue and arts centre, restored by the team behind Bangor’s hit Open House Festival and transformed into the city’s new home of culture.
In less than 18 months, the venue has woven itself into the fabric of Bangor, hosting hundreds of music gigs, film screenings and stand-up shows while becoming the place to be seen for the city’s artistic crowd.
Last week, the £1.3m restoration won a prestigious award from the Heritage Angel programme, which was set up to recognise contributions to the care and conservation of historic buildings and places. And in a move that particularly pleased Open House, they won the public vote section of the awards, with a total of 5,000 locals endorsing them during just 12 days the voting window was open.
More members of the public backed the Courthouse than any other project in Northern Ireland – an impressive feat, considering it was nominated alongside such high-profile projects as the restoration of Belfast city centre’s Primark building after a devastating fire, and the recreation of Templemore Baths.
For Open House development director Alison Gordon, the huge turnout from locals willing to vote for them is gratifying proof that the Courthouse scheme has won a place in the hearts of the people of Bangor. “For us, this was all about building community and helping to regenerate Bangor,” she said. “If we had restored the Courthouse but hadn’t made that connection, if local people didn’t care about it, then it would have been a failure.
“The Courthouse is a combination of elements that has worked and has sparked people’s imaginations, with thousands of people coming through on a regular basis, but if even one element was missing it wouldn’t have the same impact. If we’d just built a new building, or restored a building that wasn’t very nice, or if we were somewhere up at Balloo industrial estate in the hinterlands of Bangor, or if it had been beautifully restored but had a very limited audience coming through the doors, it would not have worked. It had to be that combination.
“Art and culture are now so important in the strategy for regenerating the city centre; the Courthouse, I suppose, is the physical representation of that. And to be talked about in the same sentence as those major projects is good for Bangor – we’re being brought up more and more as a case study at events to do with heritage, regeneration and place-making.”
The team aren’t resting on their laurels either, and have plans to continue expanding what the Courthouse can do; most immediately, they hope to use the venue’s large rear yard to host open-air events over summer.
“We’ve got our covering ready to go,” revealed Alison. “We just need to get our entertainment licence first, but we’re hoping that’ll be in place by the time the good weather hits.”
