Healthcare Ireland secures planning consent to build new 158-roomed residential care facility on former Monarch Laundry and Broadway Hall site

Healthcare Ireland has secured planning approval to build a new residential care facility on the Donegall Road in Belfast, bringing an £18.5million investment to the area.

Construction on the new home will start right away and work is programmed to complete before the end of 2025. The building phase will see the employment of almost 200 workers and when the facility is complete and fully operational 185 full time care staff will be employed.

The applicant on the lands at the former Monarch Laundry and Broadway Hall site will also involve the demolishing of Broadway Hal.

While city council planning officials praised the design of the building and accepted there is a need for care home beds in Belfast, the application was recommended for refusal on the grounds of flood risk and insufficient parking. Belfast City Council’s planning department also said the site was in a climate change flood risk zone.

However 13 councillors voted to approve the project despite the recommendation to refuse permission.

The region’s fastest growing care home provider, Healthcare Ireland chief executive Gilbert Yates says the new facility will meet the increasing demand for residential care in the Belfast Trust area.

He explained: “This will be a high quality home which will help meet increasing demand in the Belfast Trust area. We are providing 158 new rooms, in a development which has been designed to ensure it will complement and enhance the Donegall Road part of Belfast.

"Throughout all of our homes we are dedicated to providing exceptional care and support tailored to the needs of our residents and delivered by a staff team that is dedicated and committed to our residents.

“This is a major development and we are looking forward to getting the work started.”