PLANS to demolish a former linen mill in Dunmurry to build apartments has been criticised by an SDLP councillor, who said a failure to pass planning legislation was putting architectural heritage at risk.
The large red brick building on Upper Dunmurry Lane is known locally as Stewart’s Mill, and sits beside a row of terraced houses originally built for linen workers.
Now in a derelict condition, the mill building has boarded up windows and is thought to be beyond repair after years of neglect.
Belfast City Council is currently considering plans to demolish the structure and replace it with 32 modern apartments.
A previous application to build apartments there was rejected by the council in 2019.
Nine residents have already objected to the plans, according to information listed on the Planning Portal website.
Despite links to Ireland's historic linen trade, the mill building is not listed and previous efforts to include Dunmurry as an area of townscape character, which would influence planning decisions, have failed.
SDLP councillor Brian Heading said: "The latest planning application for Upper Dunmurry Lane is evidence of the need for the draft BMAP (Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan) policy to be adopted. To allow this policy to continue to remain in legal limbo means areas such as Dunmurry will be exposed to over development impacting upon in local infrastructure and adding to existing traffic problems.”
He added: “This application will also lead to the loss of building which should and can be preserved and incorporated into any reasonable development".
The BMAP policy was approved in 2014 by the SDLP’s former Infrastructure Minister, Mark H Durkan, but was later thrown out by the High Court in 2016 as he had not secured the agreement of other Executive Ministers.
In 2019, Belfast City Council’s Planning Appeals Commission said the mill building had become “largely unattractive and unkempt, possessing little of the merit, architecturally or culturally, they may once have had.”
After visiting the site in person, Commissioner Mark Watson was less than impressed with the structure.
"I noted significant deterioration of portions of brickwork, both inside and out, areas of rotting timbers and damp penetration, as well as numerous unsympathetic and makeshift repairs to external surfaces," he said.
Despite this, the original apartment plans that were rejected in 2019 were found to be “a fairly generic modern apartment design which bears little relation to its surrounding context” and were more suited to a “dense inner-city location.”
In the present application statement, a letter to the council states the existing mill buildings have had “a detrimental impact” in terms of road safety for drivers and pedestrians.
The only vehicular access to the site is said to “dangerously” restrict the view of drivers exiting the site.
The developer also said the plans would allow for a continuous pedestrian footway along the road and give vehicle access with a better sightline.
In addition, it is suggested that “the proposal is in keeping with the character of the immediate area, is a suitable response to the site and its setting and can be adequately accessed by prospective users.”
