Jordan's Mill issue will be back on the agenda

The city centre site, which has been the subject of a lengthy planning dispute and much legal wrangling, had been operating as a car park for more than a decade while its owner progressed plans for a major residential/retail development.

The Antrim Street car park, which was popular with local shoppers and traders, has been closed since earlier this year when the local authority served an enforcement notice on its owner.

Two planning applications - one for the mixed use development and one for a temporary car park - have since been submitted to the council. And a spokesman for the owner of the Jordan’s Mill site said he hopes the issue will be on the Planning Committee’s schedule in the very near future - possibly in October or November.

“We are hopeful that things will go for us at the planning meeting and we are also hopeful for the town itself,” he said.

“A lot of people will tell you that that area of the town has been hit badly since the car park closed and a lot of the businesses in the area have seen footfall drop considerably. Hopefully the car park will be reopened until the mixed use development is ready to go.

“The development itself will be a good mix of residential, retail, offices and parking and will hopefully breathe a bit of life into that area of the town,” he added.

The spokesman stressed that if the car park is to be open in time for the busy Christmas trading period, the council committee would need to consider the application as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, campaigners calling for the reopening of the car park have set up a Facebook page in a bid to garner public support for their fight.

The people behind the ‘Support Jordans Mill Car Park’ page said the response to their online campaign has been “overwhelming.”