Ards and North Down Council has postponed plans for a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Marine Gardens in Bangor while a major seafront redevelopment is under way.

More than two and a half years ago, the council voted to build a sculpture in the Marine Gardens area and to rename it the Queen Elizabeth II Marine Gardens. However, the site is part of a £60 million overhaul that has faced delays.

Council officials said the Marine Gardens section has attracted considerable public interest and excitement but has also experienced delays. They said it would be prudent not to add further complexity to the project at this stage.

The officials now want to delay building the tribute sculpture until the rest of the work on the site is finished and settled in. They said this would allow time to understand how the completed space is used by residents and visitors and to choose the best location for the memorial.

The seafront overhaul includes changes to Marine Gardens, with plans to remove a small park to make way for a new car park. The scheme will also include three open-air sculptures by artist Colin Davidson at a cost of £1.25 million. That move was controversial because the decision was made without public consultation or open bidding.

The renaming of Marine Gardens is also on hold. The council expects that public consultation will be required before Westminster approves the change. A similar situation exists in Portavogie, about 20 miles away in the same council district, where a proposal to rename a square housing the war memorial has also been paused. The Cabinet Office has indicated that the public should be consulted before any application is submitted.

Council officials have not yet received formal instructions on the Marine Gardens renaming, but they expect the same requirement to apply. Both renaming proposals and the tribute sculpture must undergo equality impact assessments. The council plans to combine all three into a single test, which is expected to cost £6,500.

Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022 after 70 years on the throne.