Radical plan to turn East Belfast Wyse Byse building's offices into three floors of social housing nears green light
Offices in a prominent part of East Belfast are set to become social housing under a new apartments plan likely to be approved next week.
Two floors of offices on the corner of Newtownards Road and Bloomfield Avenue in the Connswater area are to be turned into flats, with a third storey of apartments built on top.
The move will add 64 units of public housing to an area that’s desperately short of it – a shortage so bad, in fact, that the project is set to be given a green light even though it goes against policies that say some of those flats should be ring-fenced for low cost buy or rental properties.
The Arches Centre building is currently home to several ground floor stores, most prominently the Newtownards Road branch of Wyse Byse, as well as office units on its first and second floors.
Under the flats plans, those two floors of offices will be turned into 45 apartments, while a new storey that’s to be built on top of the existing building will add another 17 units – and the whole lot of them are to be two-bedroom social homes, 10 of which are to be wheelchair-accessible.
Documents filed by consultants Gravis Planning on behalf of developers Arbour Housing state that reworking the existing building makes the social homes project sustainable and will result in “minimal impact” to the look of the area, while also making “a positive contribution” to that part of East Belfast.
The 64-unit scheme doesn’t include any car parking, however, something that Gravis states is meant to push people to use plentiful pedestrian links and public transport routes, including close bus and glider stops as well as two nearby greenways.
Current policies for new public housing projects state they should be a mix of social homes and affordable units for renters or buyers on low incomes, something that the Arches development doesn’t meet.
However, Gravis point to Housing Executive statements on the dire need for social homes in the area as reason to allow it to go ahead anyway.
In 2022, the Housing Executive said East Belfast would need to see almost 1,000 social housing units built over the next five years to cope with demand; on the Arches Centre development specifically, the body has stated that “due to high need”, its officials believe the site “could provide 100% social housing units” and “will help address unmet social housing need in this area”.
State Gravis: “The proposal for 100% social housing dwellings complies with [policies], in that there is no restriction in the policy on the maximum level of affordable housing provision and the Housing Executive have confirmed that the high demand for social housing justifies 100% provision on site.”
Reports filed add that the existing shops on the ground floor of the Arches Centre won’t be affected by the radical revamp of the storeys above them and should remain open for business as usual.
The development is due to come before Belfast City Council on Tuesday night (15th). Planning officials are advising councillors to give it a green light.