Plans for six storey shop and flat block for Strand Road ‘missing tooth’

The proposed development at the brownfield site at 145 Strand Road between Chillis Indian restaurant and the Automotive Supplies car accessories store will include three commercial units on the ground floor.

Twenty-five apartments and a communal amenity space are also proposed across five additional storeys. A rooftop terrace is incorporated in the outline proposals.

A planning statement, submitted by Lee Kennedy Planning on behalf of the applicant Tommy McBride, states: “At present, the site is a visual eyesore offering no aesthetic value and allows for unsightly views into the rears of properties located on Barry Street and Meadowbank Avenue from viewpoints along Strand Road and the River Foyle Walkway.”

The development, if approved, will comprise fifteen two or one bed apartments and ten three or two bed apartments. The planning statement refers to the growing need for housing in the city and the expected expansion of Magee College.

“The anticipated growth of the Magee Campus was consolidated in February 2021 with the announcement that Ulster University is relocating its undergraduate Health Sciences programmes from Jordanstown to Magee from September 2022.

“An influx of approximately 800 new students to the city next year with an expected growth potential of 10,000 students within the next 10 years under the new City Deal.

“These new students will increase the demand for small unit accommodation within the central area of the city as it is close to all local amenities,” it observes.

The planning firm goes on to argue that the application will improve the aesthetics of the lower Strand Road.

“The gap site along Strand Road is of importance as currently it offers nothing visually towards the important existing streetscape of Primary Retail Frontage; it is like a missing tooth allowing for intrusive views into the rear of properties at Meadowbank Avenue and Barry Street.

“The scale, height, mass and proportion of the proposed building fills this gap aesthetically with the proposed building onto Strand Road as the scale of this building is acceptable, considering its location onto the Key Transport Corridor into and out of the city centre. This is the appropriate location for a building of this scale and proportions,” it states.