john - Mar 06
just to say. If the people who support the proposed marina in Killyleagh actually think that the developers will create jobs for some towns people.take a look at the likes of portaferry,Strangford.
when work was carried out there, the local people were told of the jobs that would be created.hardly a job was given to a local person as the developers came in with their own men, joiners /bricklayers/labourers and so on.
Killyleagh will be the same, the developers will do exactly the same thing ,they will come to Killyleagh do the work ,make loads of money and then move on to their next prey.so Killyleagh beware dont let the councilors and the ones who say it will be a great boost for the town and people,get their way ,If the likes of Bangor marina can be run by one or two people ,dont be expecting a load of well needed jobs ,there wont be any

Aisling - November '04
I feel that anything that could be done to help improve Belfast should be done, however to an extent. The people of Belfast still want to see Belfast as it was, the old town we know, it's easy to revamp the town but please keep some of it's original features just to remind us of how it used to be.

I had friends visit me from another country who had not been here in years and they couldn't believe the difference in the place, they felt the that Belfast had lost it's appeal due to all the new developments taking place.

Keep Belfast a place for living, not for developing.

Brian Dalton - September 2004

Planning in Belfast is something you would see in Eastern Europe. Sad.

Davy Wilson - June 2004

I no longer live in Belfast, I live in Perth, Western Australia. When I did live there, I loved nothing better than to walk round the town, my town, visiting bars like Mooneys (gone), Whites, Morning Star, Kitchen & the Criterion. I loved them all. What I liked about them most was the fact that you met people from the other persuasion, had an intelligent conversation & moved on. The troubles killed Mooneys, can you ever forget the sandwiches they served?
Don't let the developers & the politicians have their way, keep a bit of old Belfast alive, please.
I am saving up for a visit soon & I want to be able to recognise the place.

Dermot Walsh

As a resident of Ballygally, I have followed this story with immense interest but have not attended any of the public meetings. I wish to raise the following points reflecting my personal views:

- I respect Mr (Martin) Campbell's right to consider his options regarding his own business interests

- prior to Mr Campbell's purchase, this facility was offered to the market as an ongoing shop / restaurant facility - the programme focussed solely on the viability of the Spar shopping facility at Ballygally, rather than estimating the commercial viability of the combined restaurant / shop as a whole

- one can only assume that the shop alone is indeed not a viable ongoing concern set against the purchase of a combined restaurant / shop business

- I firmly believe the combined shop / restaurant has considerable commercial potential without the need to become apartments

- this was a viable, ongoing concern prior to Mr Cambell's purchase as was evidenced by the accounts of previous owners

- John Henderson Ltd (Spar) did extensive market research on the potential viability of the shop and estimated that revenues could be increased 3-fold upon redevelopment

- this shop will not, and could not, replace the services offered by Larne supermarkets such as Dunnes and Co-op - it needs to identify a different market building on the newspaper/cigarettes and 'ran out' market - suggestions may include freshly baked bread, delicatessen, exotic icecream etc and should seek to involve the local public in this differentiation process - many other retailers have successfully competed and differentiated against the multinational supermarket chains

- the 'natural beauty' of the Antrim Coast is not an insubstantial factor here - because the current proprietor is not experiencing success should not automatically lead to planning 'carte blanche' being afforded

- the local community could support Mr Campbell by purchasing more goods from his shop rather than Co-op etc, even if the cost is slightly higher (we have to pay a price as well for protecting the shop and coastline)

(This e-mail was received in response to Programme One of the "Room With A View" television series. - NI Editor)

Robert McAuley

It's almost always interesting to observe the main movers in objecting to  development as they themselves are typically in-migrants. They now have their idyllic property but don't want others to benefit from the same.

In the case of Ballygally, except for the height of the proposed development, there would be little environmental change from present. Few or no houses will have their view blocked and hence there can be limited objections on that ground. It is a fact that in NI there is no right to a view although I personally believe that this requires change.

I feel that there are two prime problems with planners;

1. If they don't live in a area they don't really care deeply enough of the outcome of planning decisions.
2. Industry, Schools and other public institutions have greater power than the individual - often the latter are discriminated against and this must be addressed.

(This e-mail was received in response to Programme One of the "Room With A View" television series. - NI Editor)

Sonya

I think it is disgusting the way the planning office and building developers are treating ordinary people in communities. They have no consideration for others when apartment blocks get the go ahead. My husband, three children and I where forced to sell our lovely bungalow last year due to an apartment block being built beside us. It made our bungalow dark, cold and we lost all our privacy in our garden. My daughter could see the ground floor neighbours getting washed through her bedroom window. We actually feel we were evicted from our property as it was our dream home until this apartment block came along. At the end of the day we were lucky to get out as the bungalow two doors up has now been approved for four town houses so we would have been imprisoned from both sides of our property.

We did everything to stop the apartments from going ahead but the planning office were unhelpful. The plans could not be found until the day that they had been approved. Of course it was too late to object. We saw our local MP but he could do nothing either. Something has to be done before residential areas are destroyed due to apartments being built. My children have suffered due to having to move schools etc. So all I can say is thank you to the builder, estate agent and the planning office concerned who effectively evicted my family from our beautiful home.