Planning permission has been granted for the erection of 18 apartments on lands historically zoned for industrial purposes at 18 Robert Street, Lurgan.
The planning application was lodged by McCreanor & Co. Architects, Portadown, on behalf of Tony Wan, Waringstown.
ABC planning officers stated in their report: “The application site is a vacant plot of land at the end of a cul-de-sac. The original building on site has been demolished. The site is now overgrown.
“Adjacent and to the east is the site of the former Waves Swimming Pool, which is now demolished, and to the west of the site there is an existing factory, SAICA Pack.
“The applicant is seeking full planning permission for the erection of 18 apartments and associated site works, on a site previously approved for residential [development].
“The proposed apartments will have a ridge height of 10.9 metres to finished floor level and frontage of 51.5 metres. The apartments will comprise of six staggered blocks, joined to form one building.
“The blocks are joined by three lobbies on the ground floor that provide access to the ground-floor apartments, a stairwell and lift.
“On each of the three floors there will be six two-bedroom apartments. Each apartment will have one en-suite bedroom, a second bedroom, a bathroom, a combined living/dining/kitchen area, and a store.
A 3D rendition of the frontage of the approved residential complex. Image: ABC planning portal
“The apartment block will be gable-ended onto Robert Street. Access will be via a lowered kerb which leads to a private road with 29 parking spaces.”
The report continues: “Planning Policy HOU 2 [relating to] ‘Residential Developments on Derelict, Vacant or Under-Utilised Land’ states that land may become available for development, which has not been zoned for housing, where a presumption in favour of housing development is appropriate.
“Such development sites are often located in old industrial areas, and in or near the central areas of towns.
“The site [in question] comprises an area of disused land accessed directly off Robert Street, and comprises predominantly compacted gravel, weeds and remnants of concrete foundations of a former building within the central portion of the site.
“While the site is not located in an old industrial area, it is near the central area of Lurgan. Officers are of the opinion therefore, that this site fits within the ethos of this policy.
“Officers are of the opinion that the proposed development will not represent an incongruous and/or visually dominant form of development to the detriment of the existing visual resource.”
Despite the presence of a large-scale industrial operation next to the approved residential complex, planning officers are satisfied that appropriate mitigating measures will be put in place.
They wrote: “In terms of noise, a noise impact assessment has been provided by KRM Acoustic Consultants in support of the application.
“The report identifies there is both traffic noise and potential night-time noise from commercial enterprises such as the adjacent business, SAICA Pack Ltd.
“Officers would expect that there would be some commercial noise to be present at the front of the proposal. However, the proposal has been designed with acoustically attenuated windows to a habitable room on the façades which are in close proximity to the commercial premises.
“This acoustic attenuation will mitigate against the commercial noise referred to above, and include specified glazing and ventilation units.
“Officers, in consultation with Environmental Health Department, are satisfied that the mitigation will overcome any potential amenity concerns with regards to impacts of noise.”
