Plans for a new swimming pool for children with disabilities and complex needs in Moira have been refused.
Proposals for the development – on a site at 49 Halfpenny Gate Road – had been submitted to Lisburn and Castlereagh Borough Council for consideration.
The plans would have seen a fully-wheelchair accessible development to provide tuition for young people with special and complex needs.
At the heart of the new facility was a 20 metres by 10 metres pool.
The proposals also included a number of family changing areas and toilet provision, as well as office and storage facilities.
The proposal was lodged by popular local instructor William Stenhouse who offers tuition to both adults and children.
There were 19 objections lodged against this application with concerns, among other things, raised over the excavation and general running of a swimming pool in the area, as well as the site’s location for a commercial enterprise.
The plans were ultimately refused on three fronts: namely the applicant has not been demonstrated that satisfactory arrangements are provided for site access and car parking; that it has not been demonstrated that the proposal
will not prejudice road safety or significant inconvenience the flow of vehicles; and that it has not been demonstrated that there is adequate provision for car parking and appropriate servicing arrangements so as not to prejudice road safety or inconvenience the flow of traffic.
