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Area Regeneration This Programme aims to regenerate a key area of Lisburn City Centre known as Lisburn Historic Quarter. In 2000 Lisburn City Council prepared a Development Strategy Outline Proposal for the Historic Quarter area of Lisburn following extensive consultation with a wide range of organisations. 
Lisburn Historic Quarter, inluding Bridge Street, Castle Street, The Railway Station and Market Square, was recognised as an area of the City Centre in significant physical and therefore commercial decline. Subsequently the Lisburn Historic Quarter Partnership comprising key stakeholders from the public, private and community sectors, was established and has produced the Lisburn Historic Quarter Development Strategy providing a comprehensive framework to secure and promote the area's physical and economic regeneration. Regeneration in Lisburn Historic Quarter will be delivered through seven key strategic themes as detailed below: - Sustainable Economic Development
- Community Benefits
- Restoration and Enhancement of the Built Environment
- City Centre Living
- Public Realm
- Lisburn Historic Quarter Arts Group
- City Centre Safety
Key refurbishment schemes currently taking place include the Bridge Street Restoration Scheme, which has attracted a restoration fund of £1.5m from Lisburn City Council the Planning Service, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Department Social Development, International Fund for Ireland and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Managed by Lisburn City Centre Management and facilitated through the Bridge Street Partnerhsip, the project has recently secured an additional £1m of funding to undertake restoration work on the rest of the streetscape. Council Leads Best Practice Visit to Merthyr Tydfil - July 2009 
A delegation, which included Lisburn City Council and Lisburn City Centre Management, recently participated in a best practice visit to Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. The focus of the visit was to view first hand examples of key regeneration initiatives, which have been implemented through the City Council and town partnerships in Merthyr Tydfil. Chair of the Economic Development Committee, Councillor Jenny Palmer comments: ‘It was fantastic to see the many exciting physical regeneration schemes here which have been developed which include public realm schemes in the town centre, hotel and retail developments and development of key town centre zones such as the Café Quarter, alongside tourism and conservation projects which are realising key economic returns for the region, and which reflect the type of city centre regeneration projects which Lisburn Council is progressing.’ The Mayor Councillor Allan Ewart adds: ‘As Chair of Lisburn City Centre Management and Lisburn Historic Quarter Partnership, I was interested to see the similarities in the projects developed in Merthyr Tydfil which are directly comparable to work which is ongoing in the city centre and in particular in the Historic Quarter. Lisburn Council is committed to revitalising this city centre area, through the development of key regeneration projects which will create the conditions required to attract new investment and promote new tourism and leisure opportunities’. Restoration of Castle Gardens 
The restoration of Castle Gardens, one of the City's most historical landmarks is now in the final stages of completion. Following a succesful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, with match funding from the Council, this £4.7 million project is one of the largest park projects in the UK to be funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. PHASE ONE saw initial archaeological investigations, site clearance and tree surgery taking place. 
The overall project comprised the restoration of the war memorial, the Wallace monument and the 17th century Garden Terraces in addition to replanting the Upper Gardens. New facilities include, toilets and a Park Warden's Office and proposed children's play area. There will also be improved pathways, lighting, security measures and access to the Gardens. An Education Programme will raise awareness, establish links with local schools and promote the heritage and history of the Gardens. PHASE TWO Phase 2 of Castle Gardens Restoration Project began with the Council appointing the various contrators necessary to implement the final stage of the project. This stage encompassed the restoration of the railings and monuments in the Victorian, or upper part of the Gardens off Castle Street, along with the construction of a new Park Warden's office, public toilet and classroom at the location of the Second World War air raid shelter at the Castle Street pedestrian entrance. The air raid shelter, a heritage structure in its own right and part of the Gardens' history, has been incorporated into the new complex and thus has been saved for the future as an educational and exhibition resource. The earlier part of the Gardens, the terraced gardens begun in the mid seventeenth century, has seen a much more radical intervention, with the crumbling terrace walls being restored along with a perron, a grand double staircase used to descend from the upper part of the Gardens to the first terrace. The terraces will, when completed, be furnished with paths and plantings appropriate to the period. For further information on the restoration of Castle Gardens, please click here to access the Castle Gardens website.
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