A PROPOSED £45 million Co Antrim retirement village, which could create hundreds of local jobs, is set to be denied planning permission later this week.
The landmark Carrickfergus development, which includes 361 residential units as well as a nursing home, is recommended for refusal at Thursday morning's meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's planning committee.
The ambitious plans, first unveiled by Kilmona Holdings in August 2017, comprise 138 residential apartments, 183 housing units as well as 40 assisted living units.
The proposed development on 120 acres of brownfield land, also features a 94-bed nursing home, a spa/wellbeing centre, medical centre, neighbourhood retail and a park and ride facility.
As part of the plans, designed by Belfast-based Coogan & Co Architects, a total of 42 acres of the site would also be developed into parkland, incorporating walking trails.
In the council documents published ahead of the planning committee meeting the scheme is recommended for refusal due to the fact the development land is zoned for industrial and business purposes.
"The proposed development would prejudice the ongoing protection of zoned employment land as set out by the extant Area Plan," the document states.
The application was first discussed at February's planning committee meeting, but a decision was deferred to allow for a site visit. In spite of the visit: "it is still the recommendation of the Planning Authority that this proposal would prejudice the ongoing protection of zoned employment land".
Article 45 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) states that, "where an application is made for planning permission, the Council, or as the case may be, the Department, in dealing with the application, must have regard to the local development plan, so far as material to the application".
Speaking in 2017, Causeway Asset Management, who is managing the project on behalf of Kilmona Holdings, claimed around 300 jobs would be created during the construction phase and a further 100 jobs once operational.
Brian Kearney from Causeway Asset Management said the development could breathe new life into a site "badly in need of regeneration".
"This is an exciting project which we believe will be hugely popular. It is a high quality development, with an excellent mix of detached and semi-detached houses as well as apartments, all of which will be built to the highest standards," he said.
"A retirement village of this scale is a first for Northern Ireland and we can see in other parts of the world how they have proven extremely successful and have added life to the towns in which they are located."
Meanwhile a multi-million pound science park at the former St Patrick's Barracks site in Ballymena is set to receive the planning green light later this week.
The proposed mixed-use scheme at the former British army base, is recommended for outline planning approval at the March meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council's planning committee on Thursday.
The scheme, being brought forward by the Department for Communities, comprises a mix of residential, leisure and office development. The plans also feature a business incubator, as well as a foot and cycle bridge crossing the River Braid.
In November Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said £26m has been identified for the St Patrick's Barracks project as part of the Belfast Region City Deal.
They said the "next generation" science park will "arm local people with the skills to compete on a global stage as digital innovators and entrepreneurs".
