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A social housing scheme approved for Ballymurphy in West Belfast is to go ahead despite Stormont officials warning 34 of the homes might be vulnerable to flooding.

At a meeting of the Belfast City Council Planning Committee in February, elected members approved a proposed social housing/mixed tenure residential development comprising 122 residential dwellings, at lands north of Mill Race and Belfield Heights and south of St Gerards Manor, Ballymurphy. The site has access from Springfield Road.

However, at the City Hall Planning Committee this week, councillors were asked to reconsider their decision, after a report from Stormont indicated a risk of flooding at the site as a result of climate change.

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A council officer told the chamber: “We were subject to final consultations with the Department for Infrastructure Roads (Division) and Department for Infrastructure Rivers (Division). DfI Roads provided its response on August 31 with no objections subject to conditions.

“DfI Rivers provided its response on August 30 and objected to the proposal on the grounds that a portion of the site is in a climate change flood plain, and the proposal is contrary to policy on climate strategy. However DfI Rivers have since confirmed that is advice for the committee to consider.”

He added: “In terms of their advice, they say that parts of the northern and southern ends of the site are at risk of flooding, from the adjacent Mill Race to the west, when allowance is made for climate change. The applicant has already modelled this impact in a flood risk assessment submitted in August last year, and they more recently provided us with a plan showing that 10 dwellings are affected in the south and 24 dwellings in the north - in total 34 out of the 122.

“DfI advises that the council may however approve the application where the proposal is considered to be of overriding regional or sub regional economic importance. It also advises that where this is the case a flood risk assessment and flood management plan will enable a proper assessment of the flood risks.”

The officer told councillors: “there has been no substantive change in policy approach since last year when DfI Rivers offered no objection.”

He said: “A suitable flood management plan can be secured by means of a condition, moreover, a range of flood resilience measures to protect the dwellings will be secured by means of a planning condition. And whilst it is acknowledged that some of the dwellings may be at risk of flooding, conditions would in this case provide appropriate mitigation, also having regard for the need for housing in this location.”

The officer recommended that the committee continue its approval of the application, and councillors duly agreed.

The site, which was formerly used for a school, will also have pedestrian and cycle ways, public open space, a children's play area, landscaping, boundary treatments, parking, access via the provision of a right turn lane, and ancillary site works.

The successful application, by Eglantine Developments Ltd, Campsie Business Park, Eglinton, proposes 110 social rented homes and 12 'intermediate' homes. There will be a total of 114 semi-detached units, with the remaining eight units located within two apartment blocks. A proposed 2.4m high boundary wall between the application site and existing dwellings in Dermott Hill was requested by the existing residents.

A representative from planning consultant Clyde Shanks, on behalf of the applicant, told the committee: “In terms of methods to mitigate against any flood event, we put forward approximately ten resilience measures, that include locating electricity sockets at certain levels above floor height, additional drainage channels at doorways, moisture resistant insulation, resistant plaster board, water resistant PVC materials on doors. There are a whole raft of measures we can put forward.”

Ten letters of objection were received by the council. Concerns raised included impact on natural habitats, loss of open space, potential overlooking onto adjacent residential properties, road safety and the impact of additional traffic. The letters also raised issues of school capacity in the area, the impact on views to Black Mountain and the wider countryside, and lack of private housing in the area.

The council has stated that the development supports The Belfast Agenda, a community plan led by the council with the support of key institutions. One of the core aims of the Belfast Agenda is to support 66,000 additional people living in the city by 2035, and within this, 1,800 social housing units and an agreed city target of affordable housing.

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive are supportive of the proposal. It has stated that demand for social housing in this part of West Belfast is high, with 2,098 applicants identified as being in housing stress at March 2021. The projected housing needs assessment for inner and middle West Belfast up until 2026 indicates that 1,570 new social housing starts are required to address waiting list demand.

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