Minister of State for Northern Ireland visits Newtownabbey Coronation Garden

The Conservative MP for Wycombe, visited the garden, designed by Diarmuid Gavin, on July 5.

The facility in the Macedon area has already attracted over 60,000 visitors since King Charles III and Queen Camilla officially opened the garden on Wednesday, May 24.

The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Cllr Mark Cooper BEM, was joined by the Chief Executive of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Mrs Jacqui Dixon MBE, giving the Minister of State a tour of the ‘Crowning Glory’.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The Coronation Garden is made up of a three-storey pavilion in classical architecture style topped with a crown and a glitter ball ­– to appeal to the King’s ‘whimsical’ sense of humour.

“The floral tapestry is planted in a pollinator friendly and sustainable way and includes ‘dancing’ topiaries and spinning conical trees that move every 15 minutes to the tune of either Pure Imagination from the Charlie and The Chocolate Factory film or Morecambe and Wise’s Give Me Sunshine.

“The Coronation Garden, which received £101,395 funding from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, is just one of a number of projects the council is undertaking as part of their Botanical Borough initiative which will see parts of the borough from Belfast Lough to Lough Neagh transformed into a Botanical Garden.”

Speaking on his recent visit the Minister said: “This fantastic garden is a real boost for the Newtownabbey area, demonstrating levelling up in action by creating a unique attraction sure to draw visitors from far and wide.

“This is a wonderful legacy of the Coronation which will be enjoyed for generations to come.”

The Mayor added: “It was great to welcome Minister Baker to our borough and showcase our latest visitor attraction which has welcomed visitors from across Northern Ireland and beyond.

“The council is fully committed to creating a sustainable borough for our residents and the Coronation Garden is just one of the many projects lined up to transform our borough, creating great health benefits for our residents, realising the potential of people and nature working together and creating something truly remarkable.”