Contractor Appointed for Courts’ Project

Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) has formally responded to a planning application for a social housing scheme on the Crumlin Road by NB Housing, a housing association with offices on Flax Street and the Crumlin Road.

The application, which was received by Belfast City Council (BCC) Planning Department on 4.3.20, is for the development of 14 units of accommodation on the vacant site lying between Century Street and Albertville Drive - 197-203 Crumlin Road. The proposal includes 9  two-bedroom houses, 3 three-bedroom houses and 2 one-bedroom apartments.

LOCA became aware of the application from the Council's planning website on 25.5.20. Community consultation letters were sent out by BCC on 26.5.20. LOCA submitted a response to the planning application on 4.6.20.

In its submission to the Council, LOCA set out its concerns regarding the proposed housing scheme. These are summarised below:

• Only 14 parking spaces are provided for the 14 properties in the scheme. This is only two thirds of the number of parking spaces the Government guidelines say should be provided.
• Seven of the scheme properties front onto the Crumlin Road. None of these properties have parking provision either at the front or the back of them. This means that future occupants of these houses would have to park their cars away from from their homes at the seven car parking spaces provided in Century Street or the seven car parking spaces provided in Albertville Drive. The Crumlin Road residents won't be able to monitor their vehicles from their homes. This is in breach of Government guidelines.
• The fact that the new Crumlin Road housing residents will have to park in Century Street or Albertville Drive will result in competition for spaces and disputes with residents of the new homes in these streets.
• Some of the new Crumlin Road housing residents will undoubtedly have disabilities. Unable to park at their own homes, they will be forced to make their way to car parking spaces in Century Street and Albertville Drive, if any are available. This is inconsistent with Government guidelines as the developer is not taking account of the the specific needs of people with disabilities and others whose mobility is impaired.
• The type of car parking provision in the scheme is called unassigned group hard standing. Government guidelines sees this as potentially being suitable where high rise densities are required, which isn't the case with this proposed development.
• The development abuts the 'commercial node' that runs from century Street to Oldpark Road. This generates a demand for parking spaces and many shoppers/ visitors to the Crumlin Road park in the side streets off the Crumlin Road, including Albertville Drive and Century Street. This increases the demand for parking spaces in these streets including the limited spaces provided for tenants as part of the proposed development.
• The main planning document that controls what development happens in Belfast is called the Belfast Metropolitan Plan (2015). This document says that  the portion of the site 197-203 Crumlin Road that fronts onto the Crumlin Road should be used for shopping/ commercial development. NB Housing's planning application does not include provision for any shopping/ commercial development. The Crumlin Road has suffered substantially from a loss of shopping/ commercial activity over many years. The traditional role of this part of the Crumlin Road as a focus of commercial and community life has been weakened and remains threatened. Opportunities to promote shopping/ commercial development should not be missed.

Building work on the new affordable housing at the junction of Oldpark Road and Cliftonpark Avenue restarted on 27th April after stopping in March due to Coronavirus. 

The contractor for the scheme, Brendan Loughran, went off site because building supply companies temporarily shut down due to Coronavirus. Unable to obtain more bricks, the brick layers couldn’t continue working.

The contractor returned to the site with a reduced workforce that will be following the Government’s social distancing rules. The Coronavirus will delay completion of the scheme but the contractor is hoping for completion by Christmas 2020, subject to Coronavirus restrictions.

Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) has said no to the housing mix of a proposed social housing development on the Crumlin Road.

NB Housing (formerly Flax and Filor housing associations) informed LOCA on 9th December 2019 that it wanted to build 14 properties on the vacant site, 197 – 203 Crumlin Road (between Century Street and Albertville Drive). These include 9 two-bedroom houses, 3 three-bedroom houses and 2 one-bedroom flats. 

LOCA representatives attended a consultation session organised by NB Housing on 7thJanuary 2020 at its Crumlin Road office. LOCA advised NB Housing that it wanted at least 10 three-bedroom houses to promote community regeneration. On 10th February 2020, LOCA received notice from NB Housing that it intended to submit a planning application for the scheme, based on the original housing mix. While keen to see housing development on the Crumlin Road, LOCA will oppose the application because the long-term regeneration of the area requires family homes.

LOCA is concerned that the Housing Executive (NIHE) failed to tell it about this proposed scheme during Building Successful Communities Forum meetings, something it was obliged to do.

The much delayed Lower Oldpark Courts' Project environmental improvement scheme was expected to start in late April/ early May 2020. However, the start may be further held back due to more delays in the appointment of a contractor, according to the Department for Communities (DfC). 

The courts affected by the scheme are Foyle, Shannon, (plus 1-11 Shannon Street), Bann, Liffey, Bandon, Manor and Southport. 

The scheme will involve the removal of all existing hard surfaces and planted areas in each of the courts and their replacement with new shared pedestrian/ vehicle  surfaces. In addition, new pedestrian walkways will ensure that there is wheelchair access to all homes. There will also be dedicated car parking areas, occasional trees and new street lighting.

Starting dates for work in each court will be contained in a scheme schedule of work which won't be finalised until a contractor has been appointed.  The contract for the building work in all seven courts is expected to last 44 weeks from the contractor going on site. It is not currently known how long work in each court will take. The contractor will be permitted to work in up to three courts at a time. 

The scheme will involve disruption to the movement of pedestrians and vehicles as well as to parking in each court. Lower Oldpark Community Association has asked that residents are invited to information sessions for their individual court before work begins. These sessions will give residents the chance to find out more about the scheme and to ask questions and raise any concerns they might have.

The green space site bounded by Cliftonpark Avenue, Crumlin Road and Landscape Terrace has been placed on the open market for sale by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE).

The site will be sold by the NIHE for mixed-use development, namely, retail and/ or residential.

In the Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015, the site is designated for housing development. However, in December 2018, Belfast City Council Planning Department gave planning approval for the development of a new petrol station, a retail unit and for 5 three- bedroom family homes.

When putting sites on the open market for sale, the NIHE provides a development brief for those interested in buying and building on it. Following discussions with Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA), the NIHE has put a requirement in the development brief that any housing built must be three-bedroom, 5 person houses. 

The selected developer will have to complete their building work on the site within three years of signing a long lease that will allow them to build on the land. The long lease will be signed fairly soon after the contractor is selected.

The nature of any development on the site will only be known after proposals have been submitted and a developer selected.

If planning approval for a proposed development is already in place, then things should be able to move fairly quickly. If not, then a new planning application must be prepared, submitted to Belfast City Council Planning Department and approved. This would extend the development process significantly.

Progress with the development of this site was delayed by the NIHE which failed to take essential action over a number of years.

Building work on a Lower Oldpark affordable housing scheme started on 9th December 2019.

The development of five family homes at the Oldpark Road/ Cliftonpark Avenue junction went ahead after a decision by the developer, Apex Housing. Building work is expected to take ten months.

Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) learnt that the scheme was to go ahead during the first meeting of the new Cliftonpark Avenue Regeneration Group on 14th November 2019.

When complete, the new three-bedroom homes will be made available for purchase under the Fairshare Shared Equity Scheme. This is targeted at first-time buyers and those returning to the owner-occupation market. The scheme allows homebuyers who cannot afford to  buy outright to buy a share of a new-build property directly from a housing association and to pay rent on the rest.

The new houses are expected to go on the open market through an estate agent during the spring of 2020. LOCA will let all Lower Oldpark households know as soon as the houses go on the market.

Apex Housing will be receiving Housing Development Grant (HDG) for the scheme from the Department for Communities (DfC). The purpose of HDG is to reduce the cost of building the houses, therefore making them more affordable.

DfC began looking at the potential for introducing a development grant to encourage private sector development in early to mid-2015. Approximately three years later, in May 2018, LOCA was informed that all necessary DfC and Department of Finance approvals for the Housing Development Grant policy had been obtained. The process of putting in place and approving a HDG policy implemented by the DfC and the DoF was a major cause of the delay to the start of work on the five houses on the site. Planning approval for the building of the new homes was obtained in May 2016.

Building work on a Lower Oldpark affordable housing scheme is expected to start in January 2020.

The development of five family homes at the Oldpark Road/ Cliftonpark Avenue junction is to go ahead after a decision by the developer, Apex Housing. Building work is expected to take ten months.

Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) was given the news during the first meeting of the Cliftonpark Avenue Regeneration Group on 14th November 2019.

When complete, the new three-bedroom homes will be made available for purchase under the Fairshare Shared Equity Scheme. This is targeted at first-time buyers and those returning to the owner-occupation market. The scheme allows homebuyers who cannot afford to buy outright to buy a share of a new-build property directly from a housing association and to pay rent on the rest.

The new houses are expected to go on the open market through an estate agent during the spring of 2020. LOCA will let all Lower Oldpark households know as soon as the houses go on the market.

Apex Housing will be receiving Housing Development Grant (HDG) for the scheme from the Department for Communities (DfC). The purpose of HDG is to reduce the cost of building the houses, therefore making them more affordable. DfC began looking at the potential for introducing a development grant to encourage private sector development in early to mid-2015. Approximately three years later, in May 2018, LOCA was informed that all necessary DfC and Department of Finance approvals for the Housing Development Grant policy had been obtained. The process of putting in place and approving a HDG policy implemented by the DfC and the DoF was a major cause of the delay to the start of work on the five houses on the site. Planning approval for the building of the new homes was obtained in May 2016.