In January a decision was made by councillors in secret to give up the community hall
Ards and North Down Council has “acknowledged” it will be giving up an important local resource by turning a community hall in Holywood to a film industry hub.
Elected members at a committee meeting in Newtownards have agreed to a motion that states a decision made by the council in secret and away from the public and press might be a threat to an “important community asset.”
In January councillors chose to earmark Queens Hall Hollywood for development as the potential site for the Screen Industries Digital Innovation Hub. The full details of the vote in the restricted debate are not available, so it is unverified what parties pushed the decision through.
READ MORE: DUP proposes cross-border cooperation for coastal defences
READ MORE: 123 forgotten First World War dead to be included on County Down cenotaph
But at the May meeting of the council’s Active and Healthy Communities Committee, elected members unanimously carried a motion forwarded by the Alliance Party. The motion states: “This council acknowledges that the decision taken in January 2026 to adopt Queen’s Community Centre as the preferred site of the proposed Holywood screen industries innovation hub has the potential to remove an important community asset from Holywood.
“The council therefore resolves to undertake an exercise to assess the need for community space in Holywood, with a report assessing need to be brought back to the relevant committee.” The motion does not attempt to reverse the decision, and will have to be ratified at the full council later this month.
The hall was built as a community centre in the 1950s, and a leisure centre was added in 2000. Although the council officially regards it as a leisure asset, the old part of the Queen’s Leisure Complex is still predominantly used as a community centre.
In October 2022 the council approved a cross-party notice of motion requiring engagement with the community in Holywood to ascertain needs and desires in respect of community use of Queen’s Hall. In 2010 Serco took over management.
Green Party Councillor Lauren Kendall said her party voted against the original proposal to develop the hall, and added the motion was “an attempt to retrospectively justify decision-making.” She said the January decision was “taken in confidence, without the community’s knowledge or consent.”
At the committee meeting, Alliance Alderman Councillor Martin McRandal, who tabled the motion, said: “In recent years the non-leisure part of the facility has been allowed to deteriorate. Sound and lighting equipment in the main hall has been removed, the stage in the main hall is unsafe to use, floors are in desperate need of repair, and the working kitchen is dilapidated.
“The management of Queen’s Hall in Holywood stands in stark contrast to Queen’s Hall in Newtownards, where the facility has been animated over the years by the council putting on a programme of events. In regards to the 2022 Holywood motion, very little has been done – in the following three years there was one community engagement station in Holywood, that was poorly attended.”
He said: “Under the Belfast Regional City Deal, this council was awarded sizable funding to establish an Innovation Hub. It was decided that a specialist hub, serving the digital and creative industries be established in Holywood. That was very welcome news.
“Late in 2025, Holywood and Clandeboye councillors were informed that negotiations for the preferred site had broken down, and that time was running out to identify a site, and thereby secure the funding. Having reviewed all other options, the only viable option in Holywood was the site of Queen’s Hall.
“Holywood and Clandeboye councillors were effectively presented with a Sophie’s Choice scenario. On the one hand we have a secured pot of funding that can be used to provide an economic boost to the town, on the other we have a community need, the case for which still needs to be properly made. And once that case is made, we need to seek a source of funding in order to regenerate the building.
“The decision was made by the council in January to proceed with Queen’s Hall in Holywood as the preferred site of the Innovation Hub. But nothing there is set in stone, this is the start of a process which will take some time to work through.”
He said: “The decision has the potential to remove a sizable and well-loved community asset in the heart of Holywood. Holywood has one other community hall at Redburn, away from the town centre.
“It is our concern that the potential for losing Queen’s Hall would result in Holywood being underprovided in community space. The notice of motion calls for a report assessing need for community space in Holywood, and in undertaking the work I would like officers to carry out further engagement with the community stakeholders to assess the need, and compare community provision of space in Holywood with that of other towns of similar size, within our borough and outside.”
The Lord Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough, Alliance Councillor Gillian McCollum, seconded the motion. She told the committee: “The heart of this motion is about balance, it is about ensuring that as a council we make decisions that are both ambitious and responsible, that builds prosperity but also creates trust.”
She added: “For many years the message from the community in Holywood has been consistent – Queen’s Hall is needed and it should be maintained as a dedicated community venue.”
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login