Ballynahinch food capital of County Down?

Ballynahinch food capital of County Down?

20 August 2014

AMBITIOUS plans to develop Ballynahinch into a top food destination is one of the key concepts of a new masterplan for the town.

The idea to capitalise on local food producers and to promote local restaurants was welcomed as one of the most innovative parts of the draft plan when it was presented to Down Council’s Culture and Economic Development Committee last week.

The creation of a new street and river park from Dromore Street to Lisburn Street was another new idea included in the plan alongside the proposed extension of the town’s existing river pathway.

The masterplan was first commissioned in 2012 as a blueprint for the potential future growth of the local market town.

At the time, Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said masterplans were an important means of promoting and supporting the development of town centres.

The Ballynahinch plan includes several major projects such as the development of the Ballynahinch by-pass and the £1m redevelopment of Lough Park, which is to include the creation of a 3G floodlit football pitch.

The schemes included in the plan are attached to a proposed timescale of between zero to 15 years with the by-pass and the creation of the food hub on the 5-10 year plan compared to a shorter time scale of up to five years for Lough Park.

The plan includes other short term goals such as the creation of a community masterplan forum to drive regeneration and the development of a bespoke marketing strategy. It also recommends the restoration of the Market Square corner building.

It has been welcomed by local DUP councillor Garth Craig, who said he was particularly impressed by the idea of Ballynahinch as a food destination.

“That is a novel idea and stands out to me as different from other masterplans I have seen,” he said. “Ballynahinch is surrounded by high quality local food producers and it would be a great idea to capitalise on that.

“That is an innovative idea that has the potential to bring Ballynahinch to the fore.”

Mr. Craig said he was also attracted to the idea of the creation of a new street and river park.

“This is very interesting and hopefully not too ambitious,” he said.

“It would be a novel idea of opening this area to traffic, which would ease congestion, while developing nice new shop frontage to help regeneration.

“It is now up to various groups and organisations to bring this plan to fruition.”