By Ryan Sands
A PROPOSAL for a 21-apartment block on the former Star of the Sea Primary School site in Warrenpoint has been made.
A planning application for the Princes Street development – to include 17 two-bedroom units and four duplex three-bedroom units, as well as 21 parking spaces – was recently submitted to the council by Gavin and Sarah Myers.
A planning statement says that the demolition of the former school on the 0.24-hectare site, which is opposite Warrenpoint Municipal Park, has ‘resulted in a degree of fragmentation on Princes Street’ and notes that the neighbouring St Joseph’s Nursing Home is a listed building.
It also stated that ‘the street has retained a residential character due to the trees lining the thoroughfare’ and that ‘development appears to be slightly piecemeal in this street due to the lack of continuity of built frontage’.
The document adds that ‘this proposal is very respectful of its surrounding context’.
‘It is appropriate to the character, shape and topography of the site,’ it continues.
‘Its appearance respects the adjacent buildings, as does its eaves and ridge lines.
‘It is appropriately landscaped also.
‘Development has been concentrated on the lower part of the site to avoid dominance, while the shape of the building has been designed to provide maximum relief on the site boundaries, thereby avoiding any impression of overdevelopment.’
The proposal is said to be ‘fully respectful of the surrounding streetscape and, in particular, the adjacent listed building’.
‘The form of the building has been designed to replicate the terraces that are prevalent in this area, with the building being well-proportioned to resemble four grand townhouses,’ the statement reads.
