PLANS to build a new Clonduff Parish community hub to replace the disused parochial house have been lodged.
The parish’s application for the new meeting facility on Hilltown’s Castlewellan Road – which would be built on a grass area beside the listed St John’s Church – was recently submitted to council planners.
A design and access statement says that ‘the replacement meeting facility is required as the current facility – which is part of the parochial house – is in a state of disrepair, suffering vandalism and is due to be demolished’.
‘The site is currently a sloping, greenfield portion of land, which is between the car park and St John’s Church,’ it reads.
‘The site is bounded by hedgerow and mature trees along the eastern field boundary.
‘There are a small number of trees currently sited on the lands proposed for development, some of which will be removed to facilitate the proposed new building.
‘The design, however, minimises the impact on existing ecological features of the site.
‘Existing hedgerow along the frontal access path is to be fully retained and additional soft landscaping/tree planting will soften the appearance of the new building.’
Read the full story in the current issue of the Mourne Observer.
