Northern Ireland round-up: Green light for 266 new homes as Mid Ulster committee meets again; Belfast aparthotel blocked over sewage issue

A round-up of planning news in Northern Ireland: 30 May-5 June, 2020
Green light for 266 new homes as Mid Ulster committee meets again
Proposals for more than 260 new homes were approved this week at the first meeting of Mid Ulster District Council’s planning committee since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
The Planner
RTPI launches online conference
The RTPI has launched the Planner Live Online, a series of digital sessions that will highlight planning’s role in post-pandemic recovery.
The Planner
Guidance published for planner apprentices
The RTPI has launched a ‘comprehensive’ resource centre for planning apprentices aiming to gain chartered status.
The Planner
Belfast aparthotel blocked over sewage issue
The city council has refused a proposal for an 87-bedroom aparthotel providing serviced flats and business and live/work studios, earmarked for a site on Belfast’s Apollo Road, because of insufficient waste-water treatment capacity locally and nature conservation issues.
Belfast City Council
Sperrin mountain activities plan
Mid Ulster District Council is proposing a further investment in its Davagh outdoor activity centre in the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains. It would involve more mountain bike trails, routes and jumps.
Mid-Ulster Mail
Newtonabbey play provision plea
The property developer behind proposals for 23 new dwellings on land next to Glenavna in Newtonabbey has been asked to improve facilities at Abbey Glen play park rather than provide new facilities at the housing site.
Belfast Live
Subject to planning approval, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is backing proposals from fast-food giant McDonald’s for a drive-thru restaurant at the former Ramp Lorry car park in Larne, County Antrim.
Mid &East Antrim Borough Council
Derry walkabout and bike initiative
Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon has announced the implementation of new walking and cycling measures along the riverfront in Derry City.
Northern Ireland Executive
Post-lockdown capital will be bustling but different
Belfast will emerge from lockdown as a “different but bustling city” with an emphasis on sustainability and investment in opening public spaces, according to Suzanne Wylie, chief executive of the city council.
Belfast Telegraph
Latest environmental statistics compiled by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs highlight some deterioration in the winter pollution of rivers but improvement in air pollution and biodiversity in respect of both terrestrial and marine protected areas.
Northern Ireland Executive
Appeals commission issues update
The Planning Appeals Commission has announced that having concentrated initially on new appeals, it is now able to write to parties setting out revised arrangements for the submission of evidence on cases already under consideration by the commission when the pandemic was declared.
Planning Appeals Commission
Replacement Carrickfergus college proposed
Proposals to replace Ulida Integrated College in Carrickfergus with a new institution designed to cater for 700 students, which would be built on land in the front of the existing school, have been submitted to Mid & East Antrim Borough Council.
Insider Media
During the year ending March 2020 nearly 47 per cent of electricity demand in the province was met from renewable power produced in Northern Ireland, according to latest official statistics noting that wind farms accounted for most of the energy supplied.
Northern Ireland Executive
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