Proposals to demolish an Orange Hall and rebuild a new state-of-the-art community sports hub in Killyea have been recommended for refusal.
Plans for the development, at 78 Main Street, were drawn up and submitted to Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council for consideration by Ashley Marshall back in March.
The intention is to construct a new facility in its place of current Orange Hall. It would be known as the Killylea Youth & Community Sports Centre and would cover the area of the existing hall and surrounding yard accommodation.
The new venue – which would represent a significant investment in the Co Armagh village – would be a two-storey structure.
The ground floor would be entered, as at present, from Main Street. It opens on to a lobby, with toilet provision, as well as office accommodation and a kitchen/servery area and vending machines too.
There would also be changing rooms with showers, as well as a disabled access changing facility. Referee accommodation is included for when the centre is being used to host sporting fixtures.
And the main feature of the ground floor is a large hall boasting two courts capable of hosting a range of indoor sports.
The first floor will be accessible by both stairs and lift from ground floor. It would comprise a total of three meeting rooms, additional accessible toilets, as well as a minor hall.
There is also plenty of storage accommodation throughout to meet the needs of the users of the new modern centre.
However, Council planners say the application, at 78 Main Street, should not be given the thumbs up for a number of reasons.
They include: result in the loss of an area of land which represents an area of open space; it does not take account of the character of the village or is closely integrated into the existing building fabric of the village, and it does not make a positive contribution to townscape or is sensitive to the character of the area surrounding the site in terms of design, scale and use of materials; a Transport Assessment Form has not been submitted in order to evaluate the transport implications of the proposed development; and that it that it would have an unacceptable adverse impact on the residential amenity of the occupiers of numbers 1 and 2 Esker Park, on the grounds that it would create overshadowing and loss of light, and overlooking and loss of privacy.
This would have been yet another development for the village of Killylea, following the completion in recent years of the regeneration of the Old School House.
Sitting on the opposite site of the street to the Orange Hall it, with the help of Lottery funding, was transformed, providing a comfortable and modern home for Killylea Silver Band, and branded as the ‘Old School Community Hall’.
