A £36m housing development on a former Rolls Royce factory site on the outskirts of east Belfast is set for its second approval following a nine-month delay over a green belt objection.
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council’s planning committee approved the Lagmar Properties Limited application for the site in Dundonald in February, with construction expected to begin next month.
The mixed-use development includes 95 new homes built on the old factory site on the Carrowreagh Road, with 20% earmarked for affordable housing. There are also 31 business units planned.
A total of 110 full-time jobs will be created during the estimated three years of the Lagmar Properties construction. Longer term, 85 further full-time jobs are expected to be generated within the industrial and business space.
However, in March the local authority received a late representation from Gordon Duff, a member of the Dundonald Green Belt Association (DGBA) highlighting his “serious concerns” over the approval and his bid to “prevent an urban sprawl” in east Belfast.
His objection letter, on the NI Planning Portal, also alleges the council had provided “incorrect facts” to members of the committee, based on details of its local development plan.
Mr Gordon states for this reason the council is “highly vulnerable to legal challenge”.
The application is to be presented before the council’s planning committee on Monday, and is recommended for approval following a review of the DGBA objection.
High-profile political support for the Dundonald application comes from Stormont justice minister Naomi Long and Strangford DUP MP Jim Shannon.
A report to be put before elected reps states: “The advice contained in the main report is not changed. In respect of the objector’s representation that this site should be refused planning permission based on the fact it is zoned employment land and that it cannot be developed for mixed use development until it is decided if the land needs to be reallocated through the Local Policies Plan process is not sustained.”
The site was formerly the home of the Rolls Royce factory, which made parts for aircraft engines from 1966 to 1977. After this, the site was used by TK-ECC for the manufacture of car components, including seatbelts, but its operations closed in 2004.
It had also previously been a site of interest for a potential Sainsbury’s store in 2014.
