Local residents and businesspeople had the opportunity to put their questions on the future development of the Borough to Jack Creighton, of Carrickfergus Chamber of Commerce, Mark Cosgrove, UUP councillor and haulage firm director, Les McCracken, managing director of a local interior design company and Neil Adair, director of the company which owns the former Courtaulds site.

BBC journalist Mark Carruthers chaired the meeting, at which Roads Service officials were also present to field questions covering both the agency’s contribution to regeneration and maintenance of local roads.

Cllr Cosgrove told the TIMES the good attendance proves local people care about their home town: “A lot of people were talking about how run down the centre is and there are concerns about business casualties before the masterplan is in place.

“But if somebody had said ten years ago that at the harbour the dereliction could have been turned into the Maritime area, the men in white coats would have carried you off. You have to believe if you create a vision it can come to fruition.”

The Knockagh representative says there are real reasons for optimism about the town’s future: “Why would anyone invest in Carrick? The cost of property, including retail and industrial units, is significantly cheaper than in Belfast. There is also available labour - thousands of people who would rather not drive to Belfast every day to go to work.”

One potential obstacle is the speed of the planning process. It was claimed potential tenants for the former Courtaulds site have already elected to look outside the Borough because of the time taken to secure planning permission for the units to be erected there.

A central part of regeneration plans is traffic management. The panel heard complaints about the availability of parking in the town centre and question marks over the viability of pedestrianisation.

Cllr Cosgrove conceded: “Ultimately, if there is no rear access for deliveries, there is never going to be real pedestrianisation. If you have a road that is available for deliveries, you need enforcement to stop other people using it and that is expensive.”