Plans have been submitted for 52 new apartments on the site of a former petrol station in East Belfast.
Belfast City Council 's planning department will decide on a proposal to build two apartment blocks on land off the Knock Road which was one home to a now demolished petrol station and car wash facility next to Shandon Park Golf Club.
The social housing complex would consist of 47 category one apartments and five wheelchair accessible ones.
The developer, GEDA Ltd, hopes that the proposal will regenerate and under utilised piece of land in an already residential area, with a mix of housing designed to support the local population.
The development would provide a number of parking spaces for residents, which would be located between the two four storey apartments and hidden from view of the Knock Road.
It has been designed to "fit into" the existing landscape of the area and the developer says that it would not have an impact, such as overshadowing, on any of the nearby existing properties.
The land had once been home to a petrol station, which then became a car washing facility before its demolition last year, with the site now completely cleared.
A number of objections to the proposal have been submitted to the council planning department, primarily from members of the Shandon Park Golf Club who feel that the development could have an adverse effect on it and those who may live there.
Some objections highlighted the proximity of the apartments to the ninth fairway on the golf course, and said that residents would face the potential threat of possibly being hit by a golf ball.
Others raised concerns that the development of the apartments could damage the over 100 year old course.
One objection said: "I know from this experience that balls from the 9th tee are regularly driven over the trees and fence on the left of the fairway. Often such balls a land safely on the golf course, while others are lost out of bounds in the undergrowth behind the service station grounds.The four storey buildings are so close to the boundary fence that they will be struck daily by golf balls. This poses danger to any windows and or balconies which overlook the ninth fairway. I fully appreciate that residents would enjoy views over the course so long as adequate safety screens are in place."
Another said: "On reviewing the architect's plan the application positions the apartment blocks, without any physical boundary protection, a few yards from the Shandon Park Golf Club fairway. The construction of blocks in this location would not be possible without encroaching onto the golf course during construction, creating not only significant damage to the existing ninth fairway and trees along the boundary but also creating a severe Health and Safety risk to contractors during the build and ongoing risk to residents from any golf balls hooked to the left from the ninth teebox."
The plans are due to be consider by the Belfast City Council planning department in the coming months.
