Antrim reborn
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Antrim town centre may finally be standing on the brink of its biggest ever regeneration. Photo by Robert Macintosh.
AFTER decades of neglect, Antrim town centre may finally be standing on the brink of its biggest ever regeneration.
Bold promises have been made before, but after the Castle Centre and Ulster Bar Corner failed to breathe life into the 'ghost town', jaded shoppers could be forgiven a depressing sense of déjà-vu.
But, according to Social Development Minister Alex Attwood, things are about to change - and a town run down by years of low investment could soon be spoiled for choice.
The SDLP man breezed into Antrim this week to officially rubber-stamp the blueprints which could yet see a town once KO'ed by its nearest rivals once more fight above its weight.
The Antrim Town Centre Masterplan provides an ambitious new look for the town centre - and, more importantly, a clear strategy for delivering that vision.
The detailed document states that Antrim has the capacity to add up to 14,000 square metres of new shop floor space to significantly improve its retail offer.
The plan also proposes that this new retail development should be located mainly on publicly owned car parks in the town centre, with the parking spaces to be replaced by new multi-storey car parks within the developments.
It also suggests that the commercial regeneration of the town will require investment from both the public sector and private developers and retailers.
And already they have put their money where their mouth is to finally end decades of indecision at Ulster Bar Corner.
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