Bangor seafront Ulster’s ‘worst eyesore’
A North Down town’s derelict seafront has been named the worst eyesore in Ulster.
Bangor’s Queen’s Parade took the dubious honour in the penultimate episode of UTV series Ultimate Ulster.
Host Frank Mitchell described Queen’s Parade as the “runaway winner” in a public vote to name the sight we least enjoy in Northern Ireland.
Locally labelled as the “gap in Bangor’s smile”, the once bustling Victorian seafront of Queen’s Parade first fell into serious disrepair around ten years ago when North Down Borough Council began buying old buildings along the seafront.
The intention was to demolish them and build an impressive new centre in their place.
Things looked bright when a developer bought the land from the council, but several setbacks later a new proposal, The Marine Gardens Development, is currently under consideration by the Department of Social Development.
Until a decision is made, derelict, graffiti covered buildings, and a car park stand in the place of the once majestic seafront, adjacent to the town’s impressive marina.
Queen’s Parade was joined in the top five by runner-up murals at number two, tower blocks at number three and litter at number four. The number five spot was taken by derelict buildings.
Belfast’s City Hospital was named as the number six worst eyesore, with one voter commenting that “the only way to get away from it is to be in it”.
At number seven, the extension to the Grand Opera House, the Baby Grand, was described as a “carbuncle”.
The rest of the top ten was made up of Kilroot power station near Carrickfergus, graffiti at number nine and finally wind turbines at number ten.
Other suggestions by voters which narrowly missed out on the top ten included shopping trollies in rivers, ladies who wear pyjamas to go to the shops, and Translink’s pink metro buses.
News Letter
21 November 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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