A new retail unit is to be built in Ogle Street as part of ambitious multi-million pound plans to redevelop the area, Armagh I can reveal.
And fresh proposals made public this week will also see the number of residential units, which would be built rise significantly, from 58 to 70.
And should the application get the green light from Council planners, the diggers will be rolling in before the end of the year.
What is now being described as a ‘mixed use development’ will see the creation of a new street too.
There will be access for cars to turn off Ogle Street and on to the laneway linking it and the car park to the rear of EuroSpar.
This will facilitate residents of the new properties to avail of the parking which is included as part of the plans in a central courtyard area.
It was in February that Armagh I first revealed a planning application had been lodged for the housing scheme, to have cost in excess of £5 million.
This week an updated full application has been submitted, which incorporates a new retail unit on the corner of Ogle Street and the lane linking to the car park.
The developer is currently in talks with a number of interested parties regarding the unit but it could range from anything from a shop to a restaurant.
The application also includes the originally planned Phase 2 development at the top of Ogle Street.
The housing, meanwhile, will be built in blocks in a range of sized units, with a central courtyard. It is within this area car parking will be included. There will also be private amenity space.
In February, the city-based developer behind the proposals explained that while many options had been explored in the past, it was the original idea of city centre living which had won out as both the most viable and most suitable proposal.
This new application – in the name of Ogle Street investments – has been submitted to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and is being publicly advertised this week.
It relates to a site listed as 16 to 52 Ogle Street and is for “one retail unit and 70 numbered residential units with in-curtilage car parking and turning area”.
In all it will be constructed in seven blocks, with one of these – Block F – the retail element of the plans.
Block A, which will run along the existing lane to the car park, consists of five three-person, two bedroom townhouses.
It is these and the retail unit which essentially will form the new street, complete with footpath.
Block B will consist of six three-person, two bedroom townhouses to the rear.
Block C is in the central area of the development and will comprise five five-person, three bedroom townhouses.
Block D will be made up of five three-person, two bedroom maisonettes, and four three-person, two bedroom apartments. Block E will have eight three-person, two bed apartments.
Block G will have four three-person, two bed apartments, and three two-person, one bedroom apartments.
Fronting Ogle Street will be a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments and a townhouse.
Meanwhile, there are plans to refurbish and reinstate two properties at the top end of Ogle Street which were not demolished when the street was illegally pulled down back in November 1997.
Work has already started on this, at numbers 51 and 52, with planning approval for this having previously been granted.
According to information submitted with the proposals, the development will make a contribution to the public realm and outdoor life of the city.
These papers state: “The new buildings form a courtyard type development which enforces the urban pattern of Armagh and ‘feature’ apartment blocks are at the corners of the site as per Armagh City Centre Masterplan.
Some units will also comprise of roof-top gardens.
“The new buildings leading up towards Ogle Street will have a stepped profile creating a varied skyline which will enhance rather than disrupt the traditional roofscape with the Cathedral dominating in the background.”
And in relation to access, the papers add: “Our proposal includes the creation of a new ‘street’ which will connect the existing council controlled car park to the city centre and create new animated and safe routes for pedestrians.”
The scheme also includes tree and hedge planting and “amenity planting in open spaces”. There will also be hard landscaping which will include paved areas and high quality street furniture.
The application will now be considered in depth by ABC Council planning officials with a decision due in the coming months.
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