'Retirement village' plans for Carrickfergus

Feedback is being sought over plans to build Northern Ireland's first dedicated retirement and assisted living village in Carrickfergus.
An artist's impression of the Belfast Road plan.An artist's impression of the Belfast Road plan.
An artist's impression of the Belfast Road plan.

The Belfast Road project would include 321 residential units, a medical centre with a further 40 assisted living units, and a 94-bed nursing home.

It will also feature a spa/wellbeing centre and retail outlets, along with a park and ride scheme to the town centre.

Plans for the development were made public last summer as part of a consultation process by Causeway Asset Management, which will manage the project on behalf of Kilmona Holdings. A formal planning application has now been submitted for the scheme, based on part of the former Courtaulds site in the town.

A total of 42 acres of the site will also be developed into parkland which will incorporate walking trails.

It is estimated that developing the site will create around 300 jobs throughout the construction phase, and sustain a further 100 jobs when completed.

Residents will benefit from onsite security and around the clock monitored CCTV, optional support services including laundry services, personal shopping, domestic cleaning and personal care.

The scheme will be residential led with 50 percent of the homes being traditional semi-detached or detached properties, while the other 50 percent will be apartments and assisted living units.

“This is an exciting project which we believe will be very popular, ” said Brian Kearney of Causeway Asset Management.

“A retirement village of this scale is a first for Northern Ireland and we can see in other parts of the world how they have proven extremely successful and have added life to the towns in which they are located.

“This is the start of a process to revitalise a site which has been badly in need of regeneration for some time. We very much look forward to hearing the views of the public and other stakeholders.”