Further Delays To Cliftonpark/ Oldpark Junction Housing

The development of five affordable owner-occupier homes on the open green space at the Cliftonpark Avenue/ Oldpark Road junction has been delayed once again.

This latest hold-up is a result of a delay by the developer, Apex Housing, in carrying out a second tender process for the appointment of a contractor to build the houses.

It had been hoped that work would begin on the five houses during the second half of 2018 but the first tender process carried out by Apex last year didn't result in a contractor being appointed.

Lower Oldpark Community Association  (LOCA) was informed during a Building Successful Communities Forum meeting on 23rd November 2018 that Apex Housing had confirmed that a second tender process for the development of the five houses had commenced. LOCA was also advised that the tender advert was placed in early October with the process expected to take between 8 and 12 weeks to conclude. 

On 16 January 2019, LOCA was advised that the tender would be issued on 4th February 2019 with returns required by 25th February 2019. LOCA was also advised that  it had been the intention of Apex to have the re-tendering issued and returned by the end of December 2018, however, given the large amount of work involved with the re-tendering exercise this had resulted in the process taking much longer than first anticipated. 

It therefore appears that the information LOCA received about the tender process having begun during October 2018 was not correct.

During a Building Successful Communities Forum meeting on 15th February 2019, LOCA was advised that the tenders had not been issued on 4th February but that they had been issued and were to be returned by 6th March 2019.

LOCA is very disappointed and frustrated by the ongoing delays.

If no building contractor is appointed as a result of the second tender process, the future of the development may be in question.

Planning permission for improvements to seven Lower Oldpark housing courts is still awaited from Belfast City Council Planning Department.

Seven planning applications for the replacement of the shared surfaces at the front of the houses in the courts were submitted by the scheme consultants, Aecom, in August 2018. 

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

The lack of planning permission to date for the schemes comes on the back of a six month delay to the submission of the seven planning applications by the consultants in 2018. The latter was the result of an error by the  consultants.

Another  potential problem will be the transfer of many small pieces of land affected by the scheme between organisations. Ongoing difficulties with this could create further delays.

The Courts' Project work was supposed to begin last year and the Government money for the scheme was in place. However, because the work will not now commence until the next financial year, beginning in April 2019, a new bid has been prepared and submitted by the Department for Communities (DfC) to the Department for Finance (DfC). While it is hoped that such a bid would be successful, there is no guarantee.

Lower Oldpark Community Association is extremely disappointed and frustrated by further delays to the Lower Oldpark housing regeneration process.

A community consultation event in Lower Oldpark Community Centre has produced a  number of exciting ideas for how the open, green space fronting onto Cliftonpark Avenue, immediately next to number 62, might be used.

Residents, including young people, who attended the sessions yesterday afternoon and evening put forward ideas for what new community facilities could be provided.

One idea involved the use of refurbished shipping containers to provide a space that could be used by local people for many different activities.

Another suggestion was for the provision of outdoor space for the very young children who use the playgroup in the Lower Oldpark Community Centre.

A case was also made for creating a new walkway to link the back of the Community Centre to any new community facilities that might be built on the open, green space fronting onto Cliftonpark Avenue.

The consultants for the scheme, Paul Hogarth Co, will take away the feedback they received yesterday and prepare draft outline plans for the development of the site.

Further community consultation sessions will be held on Thursday 21st February 2019 between 3.00pm and 5.00pm and 6.30pm and 7.30pm. They will offer residents the chance to give their views on the draft outline plans prepared by Paul Hogarth Co.

The draft plans for the site will be fed into a feasibility study being prepared by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) for the development of the whole site stretching from beside 62 Cliftonpark Avenue to Alloa Street.

This feasibility study will examine the potential for providing new homes on the remainder of the site.

Funding for the development of the outline plans by Paul Hogarth Co is being provided by the NIHE through it Community Support Fund.

For more information , call into Lower Oldpark Community Centre at 9-23 Avoca Street or call 02890351334 or email loweroldparkhousing@gmail.com   

Three storage shipping containers left in Lower Oldpark by a building contractor, without permission, are to be removed by the contractor within two weeks.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) North Belfast Office today also advised Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) that the shipping containers had been left on NIHE owned land at Alloa Street without its permission.

The containers, which have been there since last year, have been used for storage by a company called Neilan, which is carrying out work for another company, Mascot, outside the Lower Oldpark neighbourhood.

Following expressions of concern last year about the containers from local residents, LOCA sought, without success, removal of the containers. The situation actually worsened recently when the contractor brought another storage structure and a toilet cubicle onto the site.

The contractor also left wooden pallets lying around the site and this led to some local residents dumping materials at the location.

The containers attracted children who put themselves at risk by climbing on them and playing around them.

The NIHE has advised the contractor that it must not bring storage facilities onto the site without permission in the future.

The NIHE has advised that no contractor has came forward to claim  the abandoned storage shipping container on the open, green space at Mountview Street. NIHE officers are now trying to arrange for its removal

The problem of an overgrown and rubbish covered strip of land is to be addressed by its owners, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE).

The land, which adjoins 16 Avoca Street, 4-6 Summerhill Court and 1 Summer Street, has been inaccessible for many years following the provision of a wooden fence across the entrance. As a result, the site has become overgrown and a dumping ground. It poses a health threat to local residents.  

Information provided by NIHE North Belfast Grounds Maintenance indicates that the vegetation and rubbish will be removed by the NIHE. A decision on the provision of a gate at the entrance to allow future access for maintenance is awaited.

 (Previous report 17.8.18) 

A shipping container abandoned in a street off the Crumlin Road is causing concern for residents in Yarrow Court.

The large blue container has been sitting in a cul-de-sac that adjoins the boundaries of 8 Yarrow Court and 223-225 Crumlin Road.

A Yarrow Court resident told Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) that they were concerned about what could be in the locked container. They also fear for the safety of local children who are playing on the structure.

LOCA has informed the PSNI and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) (Roads) about the container.

A DfI representative said that the cul-de-sac in which the container has been left is adpted. DfI has the power to remove the container. It is seeking to establish ownership of the container.

LOCA also contacted Belfast City Council (BCC) regarding dumping and litter in the vicinity of the container. BCC arranged for the removal of this material.

LOCA will keep readers updated as information becomes available.

Lower Oldpark obtained the following statement and update from the PSNI about attacks on homes in Manor Street on Thursday 9th August 2018.

'Police are investigating three reports of criminal damage to properties in the same street in north Belfast that took place early on the morning of Thursday 9 August.

Inspector Robert McMurran said: “These three attacks,  in the Manor Street area,  were all reported to us within a 30 minute period,  between 12.05am and 12.35am.

“We received the first report just after midnight that two youths had hurled an object at the window of a house, before throwing paint over it and running off towards the Oldpark Road. The window was shattered in the attack.

“A second report was made to us around 12.15am in which two males, wearing grey tops, threw a paint bomb at the front window of a property.  The window was not broken in the incident.

“And at around 12.30 am, a third report was made that a front living room window had been smashed at a house in the area.  No-one was at home at the time.

“While no-one was hurt in any of the incidents, the residents were left shocked by what happened.  We are treating all three as sectarian hate crimes.

“I would appeal to anyone who saw these two males in the area or any suspicious activity at the time the incidents took place, to get in touch with us on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 12 of 9/8/18.”

Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.” 

The Lower Oldpark neighbourhood received considerable press attention following an incident in Summer Street on Sunday 29th July 2018.

Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) has obtained a statement and update from the PSNI about the incident.

It advised that police in North Belfast continue to investigate a report of criminal damage and threats at a house in Summer Street. The report was received at around 7.10pm on Sunday, 29 July.

Chief Inspector Kelly Moore said, “Our enquiries into this incident are ongoing. Police investigating this incident are following all lines of enquiry, so any speculation is unhelpful.

“I would again appeal to anyone who has information in relation to this incident or who may be able to assist our investigation to contact us on 101. Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.”

A LOCA representative advised that a community meeting attended by Lower Oldpark residents, community representatives and political representatives was held in Lower Oldpark Community Centre on the evening of Thursday 2nd August 2018. The meeting provided local people with the chance to raise issues and express their views following the incident. It also gave people a chance to say how they wanted the community to move forward.

An overgrown and rubbish covered strip of land owned by Radius Housing is a potential health threat to Lower Oldpark residents.

The narrow strip of land runs along the side of 16 Avoca Street, 1 Summer Street and the rear of 4 and 6 Summerhill Court.

Lower Oldpark Community Association (LOCA) previously asked Radius Housing to clear the vegetation and the bags of rubbish but no progress was made. 

The overgrowing vegetation is unsightly but of greatest concern is the potential for vermin such as rats and mice to be attracted to the land and to enter surrounding homes.

LOCA contacted Radius Housing about this issue again on 23.7.18. In addition to the removal of the vegetation and rubbish, LOCA has also requested that Radius provide a gated entrance to allow access to the site so that it can be monitored and cleaned on a regular basis.

The local Radius Housing Officer has advised that he will be inspecting the site on 24.7.18 and then implementing follow up action as required. 

LOCA will use this web page to keep residents updated.