20-home development will help 'sustain, consolidate and revitalise Portglenone'

The proposal is for construction of 20 new homes at Finlaystown Road consisting of eight detached, six semi-detached and six townhouses.

A council officer’s report indicated this land is zoned for housing within the Ballymena Area Plan. The report said: “It is considered the scale of the proposed dwellings is not out of context or character with those that exist in the surrounding area.

“The landscape plan submitted with the application indicates the retention and supplementation of the existing landscape features consisting of trees and hedgerows retained along the site boundaries.

“This proposal for 20 units will contribute towards helping sustain, consolidate and revitalise Portglenone.”

The proposed lay-out shows “adequate spacing between the proposed and existing dwellings” the report says as well as “adequate parking” which has been described as “well-designed”.

It has also been stated the “form, material and detailing of the proposed dwellings are in keeping with the character of area”.

“Each proposed dwelling within the lay-out proposed has an area of private amenity in the form of garden areas. Due to the scale of the proposal, no communal open space provision is required,” the report says.

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It was noted that Department for Infrastructure Roads have been consulted and “accept the proposed access and offer no objection”.

A letter from the Housing Executive noted it carries out housing needs assessment annually to identify social housing need. It has indicated the proposed development is located within the Portglenone Housing Need Area which has “an unmet need of 26 social housing units for 2023-2028”.

It was reported that in September 2024, there were 38 applicants in housing stress, in Portglenone, 27 were singles, ten were families and fewer than ten were elderly.

The Housing Executive requested that, while there is “intermediate” housing demand in the borough, due to “high numbers” of applicants on the waiting list in housing stress in Portglenone that the “affordable housing requirement is provided as social units to meet housing need”.

Two of the planned properties have been identified for the purposes of social housing.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

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