Boost for Ardglass nursing home

Boost for Ardglass nursing home

11 October 2017

PLANNERS are recommending that a proposal to extend the King’s Castle nursing home in Ardglass should proceed.

The recommendation to approve an amended scheme for a single storey extension to accommodate five bedrooms will be discussed by members of Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s Planning Committee later today.

The nursing home is located within the village’s development limits and within the boundary of its conservation area, with planners receiving 16 objections to the proposed extension and two letters supporting the development.

In papers submitted ahead of today’s meeting of the local authority’s Planning Committee which takes place in Newry, planners say the amended scheme allows for the retention of an existing grass area and trees in the front corner of the site.

They say while the Historic Environment Division remains of the opinion that the proposal is “unacceptable and will have an adverse impact,” it has acknowledged it was be difficult to sustain an argument against the amended scheme and therefore it would leave the determination of the application to the local authority.

A number of residents who live close to the nursing home which borders Hill Street and Kildare Street are opposed to the extension, arguing it will lead to a loss of privacy and result in ”overshadowing and loss of light.” 

They argue the extension will lead to noise and general disturbance and that the development of the nursing home site has already reached “saturation point,” with the extension not taking account of the privacy needs of adjoining properties.

Planners contend the proposed extension and associated layout will not result in any unacceptable impact on the amenity of any adjoining property.

They say amendments and reductions to the proposed scheme and previous comments and requests from the Planning Committee on the application are welcome and which, on balance, “are considered acceptable whereby a refusal can no longer be sustained.”