A LENADOON councillor has welcomed a commitment to build 15 new homes at the former scrapyard site on the Suffolk Road.
The site, which is bounded by the Colin Glen Forest, has long been a hotspot for antisocial behaviour and was once used as the location for a so-called anti-internment bonfire. Firefighters extinguish the remaining embers from a bonfire on the former scrapyard site in 2017
Planning permission to build five terraced houses and 10 apartments on the site was granted to the previous owner in 2019. However, the land has since been acquired by another private developer.
In recent days, Sinn Féin Councillor Arder Carson met the new developer, who he says has committed to bringing forward plans to build homes on the site.
It is understood that a local housing association had previously expressed interest in acquiring the homes once built. It is hoped the development will provide much-needed social homes for the area.
Cllr Carson said: “It’s good news in the sense that it brings a bit of a focus to the site.
Planning permission has been live on the site for two years now.
“The developer has picked the site up, but he’s just going to implement the same plan as the previous owner had, which is good because there will be no further delay in terms of having to apply for any renewal or changes of conditions. The residents along that road are very happy that that’s the case.”
Cllr Carson said the developer hopes to move builders on site by September with completion expected by April 2022.
“These things are always open to slippage but as soon as they go on site and put a spade in the ground the clock starts ticking in terms of delivering on the development,” he said.
“I raised a number of concerns in relation to the history of the site with antisocial behaviour and the bonfire. To be fair it has been fairly quiet the past number of years and I’ve always had the council clear the site, and the Colin Glen Trust have given us some assistance with that in the past too.
“Once the building phase starts it will quieten that site down and on completion whatever happened on that site will be eradicated and there will 15 new homes there for local families who need them.”
