Banbridge Town Centre Public Realm - Pre Application Community Consultation

Overview

As part of their ongoing commitment to urban regeneration, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is developing design proposals for potential public realm improvements within Banbridge Town Centre. 

The proposals focus on Church Square, Castlewellan Road, Bridge Street, Dromore Street, Downshire Road, Newry Street, Linenhall Street, Commercial Road, The Mall, Scarva Street, Downshire Place, Victoria Street, Old Kenlis Street, Newry Road, Downshire Bridge and the Cut, and the Bann Bridge.

 The proposed improvements include:

• High quality physical enhancements with new pavements, lighting, tree planting and street furniture to strengthen the town centres ‘sense of place’ and unique characteristics.
• Creation of new civic spaces for events.
• Improving access around the town for all pedestrian users.
• Improvements to pedestrian linkages to adjacent car parks.
• Sympathetically enhancing key landmarks in the town including Downshire Bridge and Bann Bridge.

It is anticipated that the proposals will be delivered in two phases and will result in an investment of approximately £5million in the regeneration of the Town Centre.

The online consultation will run until 26^th February 2021, and feedback/comments can be provided through the online survey or the downloadable feedback form.

The details and location of the draft proposals are set out in the Stage 2 Consultation Boards and documents which can be found, downloaded and viewed from the “Related” documents section at the bottom of this page. (We recommend using Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Firefox browsers to view the boards)

The image below is the first consultation board titled “Overall Consultation”.

A telephone surgery event will be held on Wednesday 10th February 2021 between 12noon and 7pm, in which members of the design team will be available to talk through the proposals and answer any queries. To access this event, please contact Tel: 0203 196 6488.

You may also wish to make representations by email to PACC@rpsgroup.com.  All comments and feedback should be received no later than Friday 12th March 2021.

Why your views matter

The Council is proposing to submit a planning application for the proposed improvements to the public realm in Banbridge Town Centre.  The proposal is deemed to be a ‘major development’ and consequently, the Council is undertaking this Pre-Application Community Consultation (PACC) in line with the requirements of the planning legislation.

The purpose of the pre-application community consultation exercise, in advance of submitting the application, is to ensure that the local community is informed about the application and can make any subsequent enquiries to find out more about it.  Ultimately, it allows the Council to gather the views of the local community and other stakeholders, so that they can be taken into account before the scheme design is finalised, prior to submission. 

This consultation is taking place online due to the current Government restrictions on public assembly, and in accordance with the temporary regulations issued by the Department for Infrastructure.

What happens next

You can submit feedback or comments on the draft proposals via this survey link or by forwarding your comments by email to pacc@rpsgroup.com

All comments or feedback should be received no later than Friday 12th March 2021.

If you are unable to access the project details online, please contact the project team by telephone on Tel: 0203 196 6488 leaving your name, address and contact telephone number. The Council will process this information in line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) requirements.

It should be noted that any comments you make to the Council are not representations to the Planning Authority and do not in any way affect your statutory right to make representations to the Planning Authority, with regard to any application submitted to them, in respect of this proposal.

The feedback received during this consultation will be considered in the final design and submitted with the planning application.  The implementation and delivery of the project will be subject to funding, economic appraisal and the availability of public resources.