Two major social housing developments for East Belfast have been given the go ahead.
At Belfast City Council’s Planning Committee this week (March 15), elected members agreed 33 new apartments and houses on the site of the old Maple Leaf Club at Park Avenue, and two apartment buildings on the site of a former petrol station at Knock Road.
The four storey double apartment block at 150 Knock Road is to be developed by GEDA Limited of Coalisland, and will have 52 two-bedroom apartments, five designed for wheelchair use. There will also be a new car parking court and associated landscaping.
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The Northern Ireland Housing Executive had no objections to the application and advised they were supportive of the proposals. No other statutory consultees had objections to the application.
The council received one letter of support from the public, and 35 objections, including from the neighbouring Shandon Park Golf Club.
A representative from the golf club told the Planning Committee on Tuesday: “We have absolutely no objection to this development on this site. Our issues are really the positioning of the residential blocks, and how the developer intends to develop those, without ruining the boundary.”
He added: “We erected a security fence within our boundary 20 years ago. The existing tree lines and hedges were left in place 1.5metres to 2.5metres outside the security fence. That has just been wiped out.”
He said the mature boundary had been “decimated in the last two months,” and said a new metal fence provided by the developer was “the least they could provide.”
He told the committee the lack of a fence raised a health and safety issue regarding a slope leading to the boundary river, as well as a “trespass issue” leaving the golf club vulnerable to anti-social behaviour.
The Alliance Party failed to get a deferral on the application for further discussion, and the development was approved unanimously.
The committee also agreed to the erection of a 12 apartment social/affordable housing block and 21 social/affordable houses with a community “pocket park,” car parking, landscaping and all associated works at lands belonging to the former Maple Leaf Club, 41-43 Park Avenue. The site previously held a social club, a bowling green, a car park and open land.
It follows previous planning permissions being granted on the site and adjacent land for dwellings including the erection of a new club to replace the original Maple Leaf Club, which has since been demolished. The plan for a new club will not go ahead.
A council officer told elected members that the application, by Choice Housing Association and Latner 10, involved a “financial developer contribution” of at least £52,000, some of which it was hoped would be directed towards the nearby King George V Playing Fields.
The council planning report states: “The proposed pocket park in front of the apartments is delivered to provide valuable open space to serve not only the proposed 12 apartments but also the surrounding houses including the extant permissions for 21 dwellings on the application site.”
The report adds: “On balance, it is considered the proposed development respects the surrounding context and is appropriate to the character and topography of the site in terms of layout, scale, proportions, massing and appearance of buildings and landscaped and hard surfaced areas.
“Furthermore, whilst there are concerns regarding the design of the proposed development, given the extant approval on the site and the similar design, it is considered acceptable.
“Minor concerns regarding overlooking between Blocks C and D have been raised, however, given the extant approval on the site and the similar layout, it is considered acceptable. There are no concerns regarding natural light, outlooking or shadow.
There were no objections received from the council from any of the statutory consultees and no letters of objection from members of the public.
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