Whitespots Country Park Development

The Council is committed to progressing exciting redevelopment plans for Whitespots Country Park (close to Newtownards).   

Already a popular location for local walkers, there is the potential to bring the rich heritage of the site to life by creating a unique open landscape that will seamlessly link to the Greenways Network and act as a gateway to the Ards Peninsula and Strangford Lough.

It is anticipated that the project could be delivered in phases, with a series of investments ranging from £6m to a total of £20m investment. 

In March 2022, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots announced £7.4million for the Whitespots Country Park project, which will support the creation of the park at the old industrial lead mines site between Newtownards and Bangor. The funding will come from the first tranche of allocations from the Executive's City/Growth Deals Complementary Fund. These allocations were agreed as part of the Executive's draft Budget 2022-25.   

There is the potential to secure funding for the project from additional sources such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as the Council. 

The Somme Museum will act as a gateway to the new Country Park and the Council is working closely with the Museum on exciting plans for its redevelopment, which in turn will deliver a range of benefits to the expected 150,000-250,000 walking visitors to Whitespots Country Park each year.

The new park also has the potential to create up to 25 new jobs as well as provide volunteering and training opportunities through education in the environment sustainability and leisure sections. The plans will help to protect the biodiversity of the site and will ensure its unique history - especially in relation to the World War 1 and mining heritage - is not lost.

Whitespots Country Park Development (PDF, 2 MB) (opens new window)