Residents galvanise over Bridge Street proposals at public meeting

RESIDENTS of Riverside, Massereene Street and Lough Road met in public this week at the site of a proposed social housing development which they fear may exacerbate flooding in Antrim town.

The gathering took place last Thursday night at the Bridge Street car park.

Joanne Elder, one of the organisers explained: “As some local residents may not be aware, the call to action is intended to draw attention to the proposed development of 48 over-55s units on the western bank of Six Mile Water opposite Riverside, accessed from Bridge Street, on the site of the old Philips garage and close to Massereene Street.

“The following objections are a collection of concerns from local residents who will be affected by the proposed development.

“We encourage everybody to submit an objection which should be lodged on the planning office website's page for the planned development.

“As there is a need for housing in and around Antrim, development of new housing is essential.

“However, the sheer size and unsympathetic architecture of the proposed buildings are concerning for a number of reasons.

“There are numerous other sites around the town which are already being used for new build housing which don’t impact the amenity of Antrim’s already vulnerable Conservation Area quite as much as this proposal could.

“This development will increase the risk of flooding not only to the site but to the surrounding areas and lower lying houses within Riverside and Massereene Street.

“The sewage system in Massereene/Bridge Street and Riverside has already received many complaints about its inadequacy.

“NI Water has been called out frequently to investigate the smells in summer!

“When the Six Mile Water is high, drainage is prevented from entering the river and subsequently backs up flooding the road and regrettably entering houses.

“The proposed building is four storeys tall and is completely out of character with its surroundings.”

Also present was Dawn Aiken, who owns a property in Riverside which was flooded late last year, and who recently discovered that a proposed hydro-brake and attenuation tanks at another development upstream, Belmont Hall, had not been installed as promised.

The hydro-brake has since been fitted after she raised her concerns with Antrim Construction Company. One resident of Massereene Street told how his garden was left covered in sewage after the deluge in November 2023.

Mainline Contracts Ltd of Rasharkin have their eye on lands approximately 100m east of numbers 23, 25, 27, 29a and 29 Dublin Road, Antrim and accessed from Bridge Street. They have proposed a development of 48 units for active elderly residents (over 55), comprising 45 two-bed apartments and three one-bed apartments.

The site has lain vacant and overgrown for many years.

SDLP councillor Roisin Lynch, DUP rep Paul Dunlop and his party colleagues and MLAs Trevor Clarke and Pam Cameron were also in attendance and lent their support to residents and explained more about the planning context.

Mr Clarke said that NI Water has already said that the Antrim sewage network is ‘at capacity’.

Local people voiced fears about flooding and surface water run-off, pointing to an increase in such incidents in recent years linked to more building upstream.

Some attendees claimed that ‘no one cares about Antrim’, ‘this is just a commuter town now’, ‘there are only houses and not enough services’ and said that developers from outside the town were not taking into account the views of residents who will be directly affected by over-development.

Many cited road safety and traffic concerns, pointing out that the busy Dublin Road was already hard to exit onto.

There were also worries about rumoured plans to redevelop a house on nearby Lough Road into apartments.

Objection letters were also handed out to be signed and returned to council.

Additionally, the Antrim Guardian has seen letters sent to a Massereene Street resident via Mr Clarke from the Rivers Agency back in 2007, saying that it advises against development, adding that ‘the illustrated flood trace is of lesser proportions than that of a 1 in 100 (years) and as can be seen, the flood trace covers the site’.

‘The Rivers Agency advises against development within the 100 year flood plain’ the letter read.

In his cover note to the resident, Mr Clarke reiterated that ‘the area marked in blue on the enclosed map is unsuitable for building’.

He added that he had phoned the Agency and said ‘a representative confirmed that this is the case...I have a copy on file and if necessary can refer to it in the event of any proposed planning in future’.