Green light for tourist accommodation at former Red Door Tea Room in Ballintoy

The former Red Door Tea Room in Ballintoy.

Planning permission has been granted for new tourist accommodation in Ballintoy.

The application is for the change of use of an existing cafe building, the Red Door Tea Room, to self-catering tourist accommodation.

The tea room, located at 14A Harbour Road, Ballintoy, closed in June 2022.

Submitted in December 2022 by Ballycastle firm Bailey Architecture, the new plans involve the conversion of the building to one unit of self-catering accommodation.

This will include two bedrooms and a living area, kitchen and bathroom.

The existing building is single storey with a pitched slate roof. It is located to the western side of Harbour Road, approximately 1km from Ballintoy, within a group of dwellings. There is a courtyard to the rear of the building and a garden to the front. No external alterations to the building are proposed.

The development management officer report says:

“The re-use of the building will ensure it is retained for future use. The proposed conversion is sympathetic to the form of the existing building, retaining the integrity and scale. The conversion of this building would retain the form, character and architectural features, design and setting of the existing buildings.”

In its response to the consultation on the plans, the council’s Environmental Health Department outlined a number of points that should be factored into the works.

The department’s response says that “any septic tank or packaged wastewater treatment unit should have adequate capacity for the number of proposed commercial/residential units it is to service”.

The response also recommends that noise measurements are taken to monitor construction noise emissions and adds: “The applicant shall ensure that all plant and equipment used in connection with the proposal are so situated, operated and maintained as to prevent the transmission of noise and vibration to surrounding sensitive receptors.”

In addition, the department says that "adequate measures to control dust must be employed in relation to any site preparation, demolition and construction” and “the installation or erection of any outdoor lighting during construction or to the final development should consider any adverse impacts to neighbouring properties”.