By Ryan Sands
Planning permission is set to be granted for 15 new two-bedroom apartments in Downpatrick town centre.
A proposal for the three-storey St Patrick’s Avenue development, submitted by Paul McGowan in October 2023, has now been recommended for approval by council planners.
An existing building on the site – an unlisted, semi-detached Victorian house that was formerly a solicitor’s office – would be demolished to make way for the 15-unit residential block.
Approval was previously granted for a similar proposal on the site.
The council planning report notes that the side of St Patrick’s Avenue on which the building sits is “characterised by large period buildings set back from the street in sizeable plots”.
“In terms of drawing on the positive aspects of the character and appearance of the surrounding area, it should, in design terms, respect the immediate context, drawing on the bay window features of the existing building, adjacent and surrounding properties and roof style and vertical emphasis in window fenestration,” the report reads.
“The retention of the building had previously been explored, and it was determined at that stage that the building is in poor aesthetic and structural repair, whereby the internal layout of the existing building had also been factored in, which was deemed to be inappropriate for the standard of apartments and would not be financially viable.
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