Site location for new housing development
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Planning Committee has given permission for the construction of 15 new homes in Antrim Conservation Area.
The proposed location for the development, which includes the demolition of outbuildings, is on land to the rear of 60 Fountain Street.
Senior planning officer Ashleigh Wilson told the committee the site is located within the Conservation Area of Antrim town. She said the existing buildings on the site “offer little to the character of the conservation area due to their condition”.
She went on to say the lay-out of the proposed development is “considered acceptable”.
Site plan for new housing development in Antrim
A report presented to the planning committee, which met at Mossley Mill, in Newtownabbey, on Monday evening, said:
“The site is enclosed on all sides by dense mature trees and hedging. Trees on the site are protected by a Tree Preservation Order.”
Three letters of objection and a petition with four signatures were received by the council’s planning department saying the proposal was “out of character with the area and would impact on residential amenity” and result in increased traffic and road safety concerns.
Philip Stinson, planning consultant, said the application offers an opportunity to provide new homes in a “sustainable town centre location”.
Threemilewater DUP Councillor Sam Flanagan moved the recommendation to approve the application, seconded by Threemilewater Alliance AldermanTom Campbell and was agreed unanimously after a vote.
Fourteen semi-detached, three-bedroomed houses and one detached are planned for the site with car parking for all dwellings.
The committee report noted the “main area of concern in relation to the impact on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area is regarding the protected trees on site and the felling of nine individual trees and four groups of trees.”
A number of existing trees are to be retained in close proximity to the proposed dwellings and the access road. There will be “compensatory” planting of 17 oak trees which is said to be considered “acceptable”.