'Death knell' for Sandy Row traditional community if Housing Executive's development plans go ahead, says residents group
Plans for a massive housing development on the edge of Sandy Row will be the ‘death knell’ for the area’s traditional community, a residents group says.
Current plans will see a mix of private and social housing built on a disused car park on Hope Street, between Sandy Row and Great Victoria Street in Belfast.
At least 60 social homes will be built – but the bulk of them look set to be flats, with potentially as few as six townhouses featuring in the current vision for the scheme.
That’s totally wrong for Sandy Row, argues Billy Dickson from Blackstaff Residents Association, as it’s somewhere he has often said is in desperate need of homes for local families.
For years, he says, young couples starting families have been forced to move away due to a lack of suitable houses, breaking up long-standing family networks – and he believes a development heavy on apartments would only continue that trend.
“It’s people that make Sandy Row, but people need houses,” he told the News Letter. “We need that traditional type of family housing, which this development does not offer.
“Hope Street was always part of Sandy Row, it was always in this community. These plans, we think, will see it annexed.”
Mr Dickson feels the plans, which come from the Housing Executive, “pose an existential threat” to a social fabric that has endured for more than 150 years.
“They represent a death knell for Sandy Row’s traditional community,” he said. “They threaten to erode the very fabric of the neighbourhood.
“Worse still, the development is being promoted as ‘city centre’ housing. Combined with an already unfair housing selection scheme, it's highly unlikely that even a single local resident will be rehoused there. In effect, many will risk being displaced from their own community.
“We cannot stand idly by while the community is dismantled. Doing nothing is not an option, we must act to protect our heritage.”
He’s now seeking a meeting with Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, to call on him to intervene the issue.
The Housing Executive maintains the Hope Street project will be “a housing-led, sustainable scheme that will integrate with its surroundings, and create vibrant connections to enhance the local economy and introduce housing choices that meet a variety of needs”.
The 60 social homes will be a mix of houses and apartments, said Ailbhe Hickey, the body’s assistant director of land and regeneration services, while the site will also have private homes for sale or rent and “intermediate housing”.
Stating that the community has “regular opportunities to have their voices heard", including drop-in sessions and regular communication through newsletters, she added that the minimum six townhouses were built in as the result of a consultation with nearby residents in 2023.
“We will be launching a public procurement early this year to appoint a developer, and throughout this process we will continue to engage with local representatives to provide updates,” she said.
“Once a developer is appointed, they will come forward with their design proposals and there will be further opportunities for interested parties to make comment and influence the much-anticipated redevelopment of this vacant site throughout the planning process.”