Recommendation for approval of application for 80 new dwellings at Jordanstown

Eighty new homes have been proposed for land at Jordanstown Road in Newtownabbey, adjacent to the Oakfield housing development of which 46 would be detached and 34, semi-detached.

The application also includes the proposed demolition of two properties on the site.

A decision is to be taken at a meeting of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Planning Committee on Monday evening.

Of the 40 neighbouring properties informed of the application,  eight letters of objection were received by planners.

According to a report to be presented to the Planning Committee, these include concern that the proposed development could potentially “exacerbate traffic flow problems in the locality” and could “result in the loss of flora and fauna and open space”.

No objections were received from Department for Infrastructure Roads or Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Eden Lodge opposite the site is a listed building, but it is not considered that its setting will be affected by the proposed development.

The report noted that letters received from three residents who expressed “strong concerns that mature trees and other flora will be lost to the development” and specifically that “mature trees along the boundary with the railway line will be “removed to the detriment of the character and amenity of dwellings on Lenamore Park”.

A pre-application discussion by the council’s tree officer confirmed that a “number of mature trees were in poor condition or of species such as Lawson cypress with little ecological value”, the report also said.

The proposal seeks to remove approximately 42 trees, of which three are dead, 17 are in poor condition and/or a safety risk and four are not subject to a tree preservation order.

Eleven trees in fair /good condition are to be removed to facilitate the final layout of houses, if the application is approved. Twenty-four artificial bat roosts are to be installed on retained trees.

The report also states that consultation with DfI Roads “confirms that traffic generated by the proposal will not have an unacceptable impact upon the adjoining road  network”.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

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Click here to read: Plans for over 110 new social housing units at former Newtownabbey school site

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