‘Real concern’ over social housing plans

‘Real concern’ over social housing plans

8 December 2021

RESIDENTS opposed to a planned social housing development in Comber fear that it will devalue their properties, according to Strangford MP Jim Shannon.

Radius Housing is behind the proposal at the Ballyhenry Lane and Dermott Crescent area but existing residents are concerned about the negative impact that it will have.

Mr Shannon met recently with residents opposed to the scheme, insisting that the 240 people who have concerns 

are not opposed to social housing but believe the chosen location is “not the right fit”.

The MP said residents fear the social housing proposal will devalue their properties with the assertion confirmed by estate agents.

He said Radius Housing has also confirmed that there is currently no mechanism to control who their tenants are and that homes are allocated to  people on the waiting list with the highest number of points.

“Local people are on the housing list but this does not mean they would be allocated one of the proposed homes,” Mr Shannon continued.

“I have requested that the Assembly needs to review the points allocation so people from Comber can be higher pointed for properties in their own area and also in other areas.”

Mr Shannon said those who have concerns about the proposed social housing scheme fear it will increase pressure on the existing road infrastructure in a part of the town where there is already on-street parking.

“There is real concern that large lorries will damage cars that must be parked on the street,” he continued.“The magnitude of the opposition of the 240 residents living in the area is centred around their quality of life being reduced.

“Never in around 35 years as an elected representative have I seen such a level of opposition and I am duty bound to pass this on to the developers. Radius Housing must review this proposal and acknowledge that it would be unwise to pursue a development that is totally out of character for the area and to consider better locations for this investment.”

Anita Conway, Director of Development at Radius Housing, said new social housing was developed in areas of demand where appropriate land was identified and that in Comber and the wider Ards and Down area, there was clear demand for social housing.

“Radius has identified land which has been deemed appropriate for social housing by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and we are currently working in partnership with a developer to see how this could be progressed,” she continued.

“The proposal is for six family homes on land Ballyhenry Lane, Comber. The allocation of social housing is determined by the Housing Selection Scheme, which is managed by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. 

 “We are currently engaging with local residents, political representatives and other stakeholders to provide further information on these proposals and to understand any local concerns.”

Ms Conway said Radius Housing manages more than 13,500 homes across Northern Ireland and has extensive experience managing a range of different types of properties.

“We have recently developed a number of mixed tenure projects where we constructed social and private homes in the same development. The initial sales and resales have been all been at market value and there has been no evidence that the mixed tenure approach has in anyway adversely impacted sales prices,” she continued.

She added: “We are committed to developing in areas of housing need and there is a significant housing need in Comber. This site has full planning approval to build six much-needed larger family homes. We are keen to continue to listen to the concerns of the local residents to enable us to identify the best way to progress.”