I love Marinas.
No, not 
No, Marinas
I’m still enchanted with the idea of a decent marina in Belfast. There are nice marinas in Carrickfergus and Bangor but it seems odd not to have one in Belfast.
Not only would the location be good for visiting sailors, but also a community amenity. The whole of Airport Road West is filled with office blocks and heaps of technology-related companies but, if you’ve ever worked there, you have to leave there if you want to eat – either through the entrance at Dee Street or Holywood Exchange.
My vision would be for a full service marina complete with an on-site chandlers and supplies. It would have a serviced bar serving pub grub as well as a proper restaurant. these facilities would be open to the many government departments in Clare House as well as the dozens of other businesses (CEM, BT, Fujitsu, Phoenix, Equiniti ICS, White Noise, Level Seven and more) which are along that road.
It would not compete in any way with B&Q, Sainsburys and IKEA (and Decathlon, NEXT or Harvey Norman) in Holywood Exchange but the presence of these retail outlets highlights what a great location this would be for visitors.
Being close to George Best International Airport would just encourage the development of a charter business which offered the coverage of the North Coast of Ireland and the Western Coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man. And the proximity to bus routes (Holywood is a brisk 1.5 miles away and Belfast City Centre is 4.5 miles away) and a train station passing by would make such a difference to the region.
It’s close to two nature reserves (both on Airport Road West), at the top of the Ards Peninsula, a couple of miles away from some nice hotels (Stormont, Culloden), a spa and gym or two within a stones throw away.
Now, all I need is an architect, a powerful alliance within Belfast Harbour Commissioners, a truckload of lawyers and marine architects and engineers and a couple of million quid. Simples.
Interesting post. I like marinas too, but I think many of them have an inherent flaw – they often turn public space into private space. Bangor is a classic example. It used to be that you could walk along the coast with the lough on one side. Now however, there is an entire ‘gated community’ that is only accessible by those wealthy to own a boat or know someone with a boat. I’d have much less issue if Bangor marina was around the coast a bit, but right in the heart of Bangor where the entire population previously had full access to the bay?
Hi Darryl,
To be honest, Bangor is a bad example of a marina in my opinion. While I understand you have to have some security around the boats, there is no soul to the marina there. The building itself is like a fortress. It turned a tiny beach (which I visited, age 14, once with my girlfriend (who was 16)) into a pier. The bay wasn’t big enough to have both.
My vision is a bit more open. If you’re ever out at TQ, you’ll be amazed at the lack of public facilities. And a marina should be a public facility. It should have a nice restaurant, a decent bar, a leisure space. The building that supports it should be both information and also a hub for other activities. Bangor fails on all of these fronts.
Your words are an encouragement – it’s something that I’d love to help push through. Mainly because I thought I was kinda alone. Because we live on an island and have a beautiful coast and we could make much more of our tourism, I’d like to do more with our facilities. Know anyone with a few million quid? (I’ll need enough to brown-envelope someone in SIB).