PROJECT
Pop Up Park, Larne
CLIENT
Mid & East Antrim Borough Council
TIME FRAME
June – July 2026
PROJECT BRIEF
CivCo was Main Contractor for the delivery of Pop-Up Park, Larne, transforming a previously derelict and underused gap site between Main Street and Point Street into an attractive, accessible landscaped public space.
Forming part of the wider Larne Town Centre Regeneration Programme, delivered by Mid & East Antrim Borough Council in partnership with the Department for Communities, the project contributed to a wider programme of investment aimed at improving the public realm, tackling vacancy and dereliction, strengthening business confidence and encouraging future investment within Larne town centre.
Works combined site preparation and remediation, hard and soft landscaping, drainage, utilities, bespoke timber features, seating, planting and informal play elements. As a temporary ‘meanwhile’ use, the park incorporated demountable and reusable elements that can be relocated when the site is required for future development.
PROJECT KEY POINTS
- Transformation of a previously derelict town-centre gap site into a new community space.
- Site preparation, existing service checks & utility detection.
- Remediation of made ground and identified contamination risks, including excavation & management of unsuitable materials.
- Surface grid & gravel surfacing, paving and edge treatments.
- Soft landscaping, tree planting, raised beds & growing areas.
- Bespoke railway sleeper seating, timber tree enclosures, screens & entrance gates.
- Installation of Rain Play elements, creating opportunities for informal children’s play.
- Above-ground Kelly Block foundations & demountable construction solutions to minimise intrusive excavation.
- Construction of a timber-covered space using demountable foundations.
- Drainage, water connections, electrical infrastructure & lighting.
- Delivery within a constrained and busy town-centre environment, maintaining safe interfaces with surrounding businesses, pedestrians & vehicular traffic.
- Temporary, demountable & reusable construction supporting both sustainability and future redevelopment of the site.
PROJECT OUTCOME
CivCo successfully transformed a previously derelict site into an attractive community asset at the heart of Larne, creating a greener and more welcoming town-centre environment for residents, visitors and local businesses.
The completed park provides families, children and young people with a dedicated space to meet, socialise and play within the town centre, while feeling removed from the activity of the surrounding streets. In doing so, the park supports the wider regeneration objective of making Larne a more attractive place to live, work, visit and invest.
Its temporary and demountable design also ensures the investment has a longer-term value, with key landscape and public-realm elements capable of being relocated and reused when the site is required for future development.
PROJECT SERVICES
