Assemblyman welcomes planning refusal for apartments

Assemblyman welcomes planning refusal for apartments

14 December 2011

THE Planning Appeals Commission has backed a decision to refuse permission for a new apartment development in Newcastle.

The Commission has dismissed an appeal against the Planning Service decision to refuse permission for the new apartments at Downs Road.

The ruling has been welcomed by South Down Assemblyman Jim Wells who has described it as a “landmark decision.”

Mr. Wells said the Downs Road application represented a major test of Planning Policy 7 which, he explained, was recently introduced to “control the rash of high density housing developments which have blighted so much of Northern Ireland.”

The Assemblyman explained the Newcastle proposal, alongside a similar proposal for new apartment development between Warrenpoint and Newry, were the first in South Down to be considered under the new policy.

“I’m pleased that the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) ruled that both applications totally failed to meet the criteria set out in Planning Policy 7,” declared Mr. Wells.

“I’m also very pleased that an additional reason for refusing the Newcastle proposal was that the application indicated that the nearby Downs Road car park would be used to provide parking for the apartments.

“Down Council made it clear that it would not allow its car park to used in this way and this was an important factor in the PAC decision to refuse the application.”

Mr. Wells said he was heavily involved in opposing both apartment applications and a large number of similar proposals throughout the constituency.

He added: “The rash of applications for high density housing which have been submitted in South Down would, if approved, have destroyed the character of many of our towns and villages.

“I hope that these two very clear decisions will set a precedent that will lead to all similar applications being rejected by the Planning Service.”