Council told of proposal for over 80 new homes in the Antiville area of Larne

The proposal is for a residential development on disused land at Kintyre Road and Lealies Drive in the estate.

The application has been submitted by ProjectCo Larne Limited which has an address at High Street in the town centre.

A community consultation event will be held on September 27.

Almost 100 Housing Executive properties at Kintyre Road and Lealies Drive were demolished on the site which is currently vacant.

The land at Lealies Drive has been investigated by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council as a potential location for a new cemetery in Larne but was ruled out

There has been opposition on social media to new housing in the area with renewed appeals for the upgrade of the Linn Road/Antiville Road junction.

One online post said: “Crazy. If this happens, surely there has to be some sort of plan put into place to control the traffic coming off the Linn Road and along the Antiville Road. Has to be the busiest and most dangerous junction in Larne.”

Another post stated: “Need to sort out the congestion from the Highways Roundabout all along the Antiville Road before any more houses are built.”

Another said: “As a resident of Antiville, in my opinion this is the last thing we need, social or private, the space could be far better utilised instead of throwing more houses into the estate.”

It was also stated: “As long as they are affordable social housing. Knocked plenty of Housing Executive houses in Craigyhill also down and never were replaced.”

Link Road

Meanwhile, the DUP is seeking a meeting in Larne with Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd to discuss steps to progress a link road in the town to ease traffic congestion.

Elected representatives are calling for the development of a stretch of land at the bottom of the Ballyloran link road in a bid to improve traffic flow in the area.

The DUP insists that it remains the responsibility of the Department for Infrastructure to “look at starting proceedings for compulsory purchase of the land so that this important part of Larne’s infrastructure can be completed”.

However, the DfI has stated that the missing section is a “private development issue”.

A Department for Instrastructure spokesperson said: “The principle for construction of the Larne West Distributor Road is set out in the Larne Area Plan as a developer-led road. The missing section of road is a private development issue and responsibility for finding a resolution rests with the developers.”

In a statement, East Antrim DUP MP Sammy Wilson  said: “Democratic accountability is about more than a minister answering questions in the Assembly. It should also be about a willingness to explain their decisions and seek to resolve local problems in discussion with local people.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter