Antrim social housing plan approved despite more than 400 objections

Councillors were told at a meeting at Mossley Mill last week that the proposal received a total of 408 objections.

Planning officer Alicia Leathem said that the proposed site “lies just outside” Antrim Conservation Area with neighbouring properties at Riverside and Massereene Street.

The application is for 35 two-bedroom and three one-bedroom apartments to be located in two buildings at Bridge Street for over 55s.

The officer told councillors the principle of residential development at this location is “considered acceptable”.

The officer indicated the main concerns highlighted relate to parking, sewerage, infrastructure and parking.

The committee report noted a “large volume” of objections raised concerns in relation to flood risk. However, Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Rivers has indicated the proposed apartments and parking area will be located outside the floodplain.

The report stated that during the processing of the application, an amended scheme was submitted reducing the number of apartments from 48 to 38.

Speaking at the meeting, Antrim Ulster Unionist councillor Leah Smyth, who is not a committee member, read a statement on behalf of South Antrim MP Robin Swann in support of the planned development.

The statement said that Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough has the third highest level of homelessness in Northern Ireland with people living in “unsuitable accommodation that no longer meets their needs” and described the housing proposal as “life-changing”.

Speaking on behalf of residents of Riverside and Massereene Street, Antrim Sinn Fein councillor Lucille O’Hagan, not a committee member, said it is a “historic area of Antrim town that has suffered decades of flooding”.

South Antrim Alliance MLA John Blair said he believed that proposed access on to Bridge Street will increase traffic and “impose challenge for emergency vehicles”. He added: “There is persistent flooding in the area.”

Macedon Ulster Unionist councillor Robert Foster pointed out that NI Water and DfI Roads have no concerns.

Mr Blair said he has stood with residents as water was “washing up the streets at Riverside”.

Local resident Dawn Aiken told the committee that Riverside and Massereene Street are low-lying streets at risk of flooding at times of heavy rain.

“If the planning committee passes the application, it sends out a message that sewage in our homes and streets is acceptable,” she said.

Joanne Elder, a representative, of Riverside and Massereene Street residents, noted more than 400 objections to the proposal and warned against “over-burdening the infrastructure”.

The application was granted permission after eight members voted in favour and two against.