By Julie Waters
RESIDENTS’ concerns about noise levels and anti-social behaviour have prompted the removal of two attractions from the new multi-million pound Pickie Fun Park redevelopment.
The family rollercoaster and wet play features have been taken out of the £3.4m revamp, in favour of an enhanced Pickie Puffer train passing through an enclosed all-weather tunnel with audio-visual features.
Other new proposals include a zorb pool, enhancing the nature walk into a sensory trail and improving the proposed amphitheatre for events and seasonal use.
The Pickie Park redevelopment, which is set to begin in 2027 and take a year to complete, is one of four projects set to regenerate a 2.2km stretch of coastline from Skippingstone Beach to Ballyholme as part of the Bangor Waterfront scheme.
The four remaining redevelopment projects include Ballyholme Yacht Club Watersports Centre, the urban waterfront, Pickie Fun Park and Bangor Marina. Just last week it was revealed that a fifth project, phase two of the Court House, was no longer going ahead.
Councillors at Ards and North Down Council’s Place and Prosperity Committee, last week agreed that £375,000 should be reallocated from the Court House scheme to pay for the revised proposals at Pickie.
This £375,000 funding reallocation has leveraged a £266,000 private sector investment from the Pickie Fun Park operator.
Councillor Chris McCracken said he had spoken with residents who had voiced concerns about ‘noise and over intensification’ of the site and welcomed the steps that had been taken to resolve these issues.
The Alliance councillor also queried if the Pickie Fun Park would now be a ‘purely paid for’ attraction and if the operator would have a permanent licence to sell alcohol or if the alcohol licence would be for special events.
Councillor Gillian McCollum also welcomed the public consultation events that had been held for both the Pickie Fun Park and Ballyholme Yacht Club. She had spoken to some residents who were ‘unhappy’ about the wet play area and welcomed that issues with the rollercoaster had also been addressed.
However, Mayor Craig Blaney acknowledged that while some residents ‘would not have gone’ for the rollercoaster he expressed concerns that residents and visitors alike may now have to travel to Groomsport and Donaghadee to enjoy a wet play zone.
The Ulster Unionist councillor further recognised there were ‘maintenance issues’ with the current Pickie Fun Park water feature but said it would be a ‘shame’ if children did not have a splash area in Bangor.
DUP councillor Jennifer Gilmore also acknowledged the park’s current splash zone was ‘not always reliable and difficult to fix’ but called for efforts to be made to preserve ‘Pickie’s legacy’.
Independent councillor Tom Brady said that a ‘lot of people were disappointed’ that the Court House element of the Waterfront project was no longer proceeding and asked why this was the case.
Addressing the array of queries, Steven Ferguson, head of economic growth, explained the majority of the attractions at the new Pickie Fun Park would be pay to use but the cafe, nature play zone and sensory trail would be free.
Turning to anti-social behaviour and noise concerns, Mr Ferguson said the opening hours of the park had been reduced and the council were ‘content it should not pose a problem’.
He also said the operator would have to go through the normal council application process to host evening events and there was ’definitely not’ a permanent licence for the fun park.
Considering the wet play area, Mr Ferguson said a wet play element was being included in the new fun park and highlighted the zorb pool. However, he went on to say a further wet play area could ‘potentially’ be included in the waterfront public realm part of the scheme.
Addressing concerns that the planned expansion of Bangor’s Court House was not proceeding at this stage, Mr Ferguson said they had ‘tried everything to make it work’ but there were ‘no other viable alternatives’.
The Spectator understands plans to expand the Quay Street venue into a neighbouring vacant property could not go ahead as the property owner declined to sell.
