Belfast City Council has given the green light for the conversion of a listed warehouse in the city's Village area to apartment blocks - despite local objections.
The council’s Planning Committee approved an application for a residential conversion of the old factory at 3-19 Rydalmere Street to form 57 residential units of one to three bed units, including 60 percent social and affordable housing. There will also be six new-build apartments, in a total of four blocks.
The application, by Cubic 3 of Bangor, includes a commitment to a minimum of 20 percent social housing for the development.
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The developers originally planned to convert the derelict warehouse into 57 iconic Manhattan-style loft apartments, including seven rooftop penthouses, to be called “Madison Avenue'' after the region in New York. This was changed to a proposal involving so-called “affordable housing.”
The existing buildings were built between 1917 and 1920, and were one of three factories owned by Douglas and Grahame, the clothing manufacturer and brand retailer, who was a leading employer in the area. It has been unused since the company moved to a purpose-built factory in Carrickfergus in 2009, and was listed in 2014.
Of all the statutory consultees, only the Department for Infrastructure’s Roads division gave concerns, regarding road safety and traffic progression as a result of insufficient parking. They gave the council conditions for approval of the development.
The council received 29 objections from locals, the majority of which were received prior to the change in proposed tenure of the development.
The Chair of the local Blackstaff Residents Association appeared before the committee on behalf of objectors. He said: “The overriding concern is that it will add to the existing parking problems in the area.”
He added: “Emergency and Service vehicles could find it difficult and at times impossible to get up streets or call and deliver to a particular house.
“Regarding social housing, there is no guarantee under the point system that they will be allocated to local residents.”
He added: “Our objective is to make life better for the residents who live there now. The Blackstaff Residents Association, which has been involved in many projects in the area for 44 years, regrets that they were never consulted about the plans by the developer.”
He said: “It has been said that doing something is better than doing nothing. It has been said doing something might change the unsightly appearance - but in all probability it will create greater problems.
“We have always maintained that the structure of the building is one of legacy - it reflects the great clothing industry that once existed in the area.”
Council officers recommended elected representatives approve the plan. The planning report states: “The proposal will help bring back these important listed buildings back into viable use and the principle of residential development at the site is acceptable.
"DFI Road’s concerns about insufficient parking, traffic progression and road safety must be balanced against the characteristics of the site, its sustainable location and the significant benefits of the scheme, notably that it will bring these important listed buildings back into viable use, deliver much needed affordable housing and will have regeneration benefits for the area.”
A representative for the applicant told the committee: “It has sat there for a long time. It is not going to get in any better condition. And over that time, no viable commercial use has come forward to occupy that. This is really the only opportunity left to the owner in terms of finding a way to make use of this valuable and interesting building.”
He added: “The historic buildings team within Belfast City Council have been closely involved in this conversion, and they have stated during the process that this is one of the best conversion projects they’ve seen presented to the Planning department in some time.”
He said: “We are working closely with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and with various social housing providers to try and develop a model that is matched closely to local needs. We are not just dropping in a bunch of rich yuppie apartments.”
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