Northern Ireland Planning Service

Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015
District Proposals: Holywood Urban Environment

Related Maps

Planning Service recommends Adobe Reader v8 Opens link in a new browser window. or higher to view maps in pdf format.

Related Links

Holywood Conservation Area

Holywood Conservation Area was designated on 12th May 2004 and includes the Maypole and the neighbourhood known as ‘High Holywood’. The Conservation Area is identified on Map No. 4a - Holywood Settlement, Map No. 4n - Holywood Town Centre and Map No. 23 – Holywood Conservation Area.
Development Proposals within Holywood Conservation Area will be assessed in accordance with prevailing regional planning policy as currently set out in PPS 6 Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage, Policy UE 2 as set out in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan and additional design criteria as set out below and any relevant design guidance.
It is anticipated that within the plan period design guidance will be published for Holywood Conservation Area.
Policy HD 07 Holywood Conservation Area Additional Design Criteria
The following additional design criteria shall apply to Holywood Conservation Area:
  • The size and plot ratio of dwellings shall be compatible with those in the immediate neighbourhood;
  • Development shall not include the removal of trees and areas of soft landscaping between the building line and the boundary of the road or footway;
  • Development shall not include removal of front garden areas or traditional front boundary structures; and
  • The same standards of detailing and design shall be applied to all development whether on the street frontage or to the rear of the buildings and whether exposed to or hidden from public views.
Development should recognise the special architectural and historic character of Holywood and the distinctive landscape quality of the area. The area includes the Anglo Norman priory, the Elizabethan Plantation layout and later Victorian and Edwardian architecture in the Town Centre and the high quality suburbs set in mature landscaping that characterises residential Holywood.
Part of Holywood Conservation Area lies within Holywood Town Centre boundary and is identified on Map No. 4n – Holywood Town Centre (See Map No. 23 – Holywood Conservation Area for clarification).

Areas of Townscape Character

The following Areas of Townscape Character (ATCs) HD 08 – HD 12 are designated in Holywood as identified on Map No. 4a and on clarification Map Nos. 4i – 4m.
Policy for the control of development within the ATCs is contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan.
Designation HD 08 Area of Townscape Character
Holywood North
An Area of Townscape Character is designated in Holywood North as identified on Map No. 4a - Holywood and on clarification Map No. 4j – Holywood North Area of Townscape Character.
Key features of the area which will be taken into account when assessing development proposals are as follows: -
  • Suburban dwellings in a densely landscaped setting with well articulated boundaries on Victoria Road. Typical details include gabled bays and bay windows with a variety of roofing and facing materials;
  • The suburban bungalows of Ardmore Park, which step up the slope to the stuccoed Ardmore Terrace, comprising five three bay, two storey dwellings and terminated at both ends by three storey dwellings. Elevational form comprises a rusticated ground floor, canted bays, and plaster surrounds to windows and doors;
  • The semi detached dwellings at the corner of Victoria Road and Croft Road with full height canted bays containing decorative barges, finials to gabled bays and porticoes with corbelled arches over doorcases;
  • Stuccoed villas on Lower Croft Road, with sash windows, gabled and canted bays, decorative barges, plaster surrounds to openings and stainglass windows;
  • The historic properties located to the east of Church Avenue including one faced in vernacular stone, with central gable and sandstone dressings, one of sandstone and one rendered with a Corinthian bay window with balustrade and consoles to the canopy over the door; and
  • The cemetery in Priory Park, which provides a historic setting for the medieval Priory.
All proposals will be assessed against key design criteria 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A as contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan (See North Down District Proposals Appendix 2).
Holywood North ATC is located to the north of Holywood Conservation Area. Consisting of predominantly residential land uses, it centres on Victoria Road and Croft Road with suburban villas and terraces, which were built in the first half of the nineteenth century, so as to enjoy the views over Belfast Lough. A notable example is Ardmore Terrace.
This combination of antiquity, fine nineteenth century dwellings, the mature trees and gardens, the varied topography, the narrow meandering roads and the periodic and varied views afforded of the sea, make this an area of significant quality and townscape character.
Designation HD 09 Area of Townscape Character Holywood South
An Area of Townscape Character is designated in Holywood South as identified on Map No. 4a - Holywood, Map No. 4n - Holywood Town Centre and on clarification Map No. 4k – Holywood South Area of Townscape Character.
Key features of the area which will be taken into account when assessing development proposals are as follows: -
High Street

  • The neoclassical First Presbyterian Church, with Corinthian columns and pilasters;
  • The gothic High St. Presbyterian Church in vernacular stone with gabled nave (with three lancets) and turreted side aisles expressed on the elevation though not replicated in plan;
  • The polychrome mid Victorian gothic revival Library with clock tower comprising cusped tracery to the windows and red brick banding at ground floor;
  • The First Trust building faced in red brick with dentilled cornice and projecting stone portico;
  • The Walmer Terrace (1865), which is a listed property;
  • Historic rendered terraces to the east of High Street with details such as sash windows, architraves of consoles and cornice, plaster surrounds to windows and canted bays;
  • Numerous buildings in Sullivan Place, including the Orange hall with polychrome brick surrounds to openings, the King Edward Memorial Building and the McCammon Memorial Masonic Hall with gabled attic window and art nouveau arched window;
  • Neoclassical ‘St Helens’ on the western side of High Street comprising tripartite windows in classical architraves of consoles and scrolled pediments, modillions to eaves and ionic portico with balustrade;
  • St Colmcille’s which marks an impressive visual stop to High Street;
  • The 2 storey, red brick, gabled and dormered CCMS building with
    gate lodge in similar style;
  • Nos. 156 – 158 High Street, with porticos of corbelled arches, marble columns and shaped gable dormers;
  • Nos. 154 – 156 High Street, which comprise pedimented porticoes and decorative gable barges; and
  • Red brick terrace in Ean Hill with distinctive polychrome brick surrounds to openings.
My Lady’s Mile
  • Large 2 and 3 bay semi detached and detached housing, faced in red brick and rendered with slated, hipped roofs, gabled bays (often with Tudoresque detailing), canted bay windows, dentilled cornices and key stones to openings. These properties are set in substantial plots with boundaries articulated by privet hedges and trees with views of the Lough and St Colmcille’s steeple;
  • Red brick buildings with impressive central gables to the western side of Alexandra Park; and
  • Arts and Crafts dwelling, at the junction of Lynwood, with Tudoresque details including gabled bays with timber panelling, stone bay window, the first floor jettied over the ground floor, robust free standing chimney stacks and stain glass windows.
Demense Road
  • Impressive villas on the eastern side of Demesne Road, set in substantial plots with mature landscaping and Tudoresque panelling to gables, pedimented doorcases, canted bays and pebble dash finishes;
  • Well articulated roofscape on Demesne Avenue, which is expressed by a series of hipped roofs and dormers on the bungalows stepping up with the topography. On the north side there are bay windows below gabled bays; and
  • Red brick Victorian villas with one and two storey canted bays, cornicing, terracotta panels, corbelled chimneys, and decorative barges to gables on the sweeping bend of Demesne Road.
Downshire Road
  • A stuccoed terrace at the corner with Lemonfield Avenue known as Fernbank, with rusticated ground floor, quoins and first floor consoles which support a label mould above an arched window to the central bay;
  • Victorian red brick gabled villas along the eastern side of Ardenlee Avenue, with full height canted bays, impressive doorcases and polychrome brick detailing around the decorative terracotta panels; and
  • Brick and rendered terraces with ground floor bays along the Lower Downshire Road.
Church View
  • Terraces along the lower section of Church View, faced in brick and rendered with cornices, including plaster surround, to windows and doorcase surrounds comprising either arches or consoles (with acanthus) and cornice canopies; and
  • The high density terraces of Trevor Street, Spencer Street and Park Drive. A number are situated along the back of the footway, some with very small front plots and some with vertical emphasis windows, canted bays and dentilled cornicing.
All proposals will be assessed against key design criteria 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A as contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan (See North Down District Proposals Appendix 2).
Holywood South ATC is located to the south of Holywood Conservation Area. High Street is a major north south axis running through the western part of the ATC, with predominantly residential land uses to the east of this.
The range of houses reflects different periods of development with the higher density terraces closer to the town centre surrounded by lower density suburbs typically comprising semi detached and detached houses set in substantial plots with mature landscaping.
The late nineteenth century, parallel terraced streets extending eastwards from Church View, were occupied by artisans and labourers. Downshire Road, developed between the 1860’s and the 1920’s, exhibits a variety of designs. Church View retains some good dwellings, from the 1860s and 1870s.
My Lady’s Mile and Ardlee Avenue was laid out during the 1890s and contain excellent examples of late Victorian, Edwardian and inter-war suburban dwellings set in spacious plots with mature landscaping and trees.
Other houses on Demesne Road, from Downshire Road to Abbots Wood at the entrance into the post-war Loughview Housing Estate, comprise a variety of late Victorian and Edwardian Arts and Crafts influenced designs set in generous plots with mature trees and gardens behind front boundary hedges.
Part of Holywood South Area of Townscape Character lies within Holywood Town Centre boundary and is identified on Map No. 4n – Holywood Town Centre (See Map No. 4k – Holywood South Area of Townscape Character for clarification).
Designation HD 10 Area of Townscape Character Holywood/Bangor Road
An Area of Townscape Character is designated at Holywood/Bangor Road as identified on Map No. 4a - Holywood and on clarification Map No. 4i – Holywood/Bangor Road Area of Townscape Character.
Key features of the area which will be taken into account when assessing development proposals are as follows: -
  • Listed demesnes and mid to late Victorian and Edwardian buildings, including the listed Culloden House and Gate Lodge (1864); Cultra Manor and Gate Lodge (1902), which is also a listed demesne, the two Gate Lodges of Craigavad House and Holy Trinity Church, Glencraig;
  • Large dwellings set in generous plots;
  • Boundary treatments of dwellings facing onto the A2, comprise mature hedges and basalt rubble retaining walls;
  • Coastal scenery, wooded landscape and the back drop of the Holywood Hills with outstanding views over a wooded foreground to Belfast Lough from higher ground;
  • The Salvation Army’s Silver Birch, to the north east of Ballymenoch Park, has the feel of an Elizabethan Manor House with its gabled bays, transoms and mullions to windows and balconette above the doorway; and
  • The treed landscape which frames occasional glimpses of the sea and the Antrim coast beyond.
All proposals will be assessed against key design criteria 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B as contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan (See North Down District Proposals Appendix 2).
A number of mid to late Victorian and Edwardian houses border the A2 Bangor Road in Holywood, one of the busiest roads in Northern Ireland. The portion of road from Ballymenoch to Craigavad runs through an area of exclusive residential suburbs, whose distinctive quality, character and appearance derive from its striking backdrop of coastal scenery, wooded landscape and the gentle topography of the Holywood hills with outstanding views over a wooded foreground to Belfast Lough. The road, much in the style of a corniche, provides access to the individual properties, which border it, as well as feeding minor roads into the coastal areas of Marino, Cultra and Craigavad.
Designation HD 11 Area of Townscape Character Kinnegar
An Area of Townscape Character is designated at Kinnegar as identified on Map No. 4a - Holywood and on clarification Map No. 4l - Kinnegar Area of Townscape Character.
Key features of the area which will be taken into account when assessing development proposals are as follows: -
  • Victorian and Edwardian villas and terraces with front gardens, situated along the Esplanade, including the semi-detached dwellings at Nos. 22 / 24 Kinnegar Road (circa 1857); the 1868 Kinnegar Hotel; Marine Place (1863); Pier View Terrace (1867) and Nos. 2-8 Kinnegar Drive (1860).
All proposals will be assessed against key design criteria 2B, 3B as contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan (See North Down District Proposals Appendix 2).
The Kinnegar has long been physically separated from the rest of Holywood, at first by an inlet of water from Belfast Lough, then in 1848 by the arrival of the railway with its high embankment and station buildings and more recently by the bypass road. As a result of this isolation from the rest of Holywood, the area has developed its own character and identity.
The landscape character and appearance of The Kinnegar, dominated by its exposure to the adjoining expanse of Belfast Lough, are typically estuarine. Most of the houses have front gardens but the area is largely devoid of trees. Although the townscape has become fragmented, the area still retains a large number of mid to late Victorian dwellings.
Designation HD 12 Area of Townscape Character Marino, Cultra, Craigavad
An Area of Townscape Character is designated at Marino, Cultra, Craigavad as identified on Map No. 4a - Holywood and on clarification Map No. 4m – Marino, Cultra and Craigavad Area of Townscape Character.
Key features of the area which will be taken into account when assessing development proposals are as follows: -
  • Late Victorian and Edwardian villas in a mix of architectural styles set within large landscaped plots with extensive views over Belfast Lough across to County Antrim;
  • Thirty listed buildings including the 1870’s coast guard station in Farmhill Road, built to the Board of Works standard design, and “Clanbrassil Terrace” a row of three, three storey houses;
  • Five listed demesnes namely, Ardnalea, Craigavad House, Cultra House, Dalchoolin and Rockport; and
  • Narrow meandering roads bounded by tall hedges, trees and rubble stone walls.
All proposals will be assessed against key design criteria 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B as contained in Policy UE 3 in Part 3, Volume 1 of the Plan (See North Down District Proposals Appendix 2).
This part of the North Down coastline was settled mainly by Plantation families in the seventeenth century. It includes a number of large villas, sited in wooded grounds, commanding extensive views over Belfast Lough across to County Antrim.
The physical impact of the railway on the landscape is reduced by cuttings which overcome the gradients and hide the line and some of its stations. This has required the erection of ten road bridges between Seapark and Rockport for access to the coast.
Some of the larger, earlier villas have been successfully converted to accommodate educational and leisure uses.
Each of the three constituent townlands of Marino, Cultra and Craigavad have similar characteristics, of coastal landscape, patterns of access and roadways constrained by the railway, though with some variations in housing density.
During the 1950s and 1960s a number of new cul-de-sac housing schemes were introduced into the area though their visual impact is mitigated by ample mature landscape and wooded areas. This drive to higher density has continued in the last 25 years with new houses sited within the grounds of some of the larger properties. The historic character and appearance of Marino, Cultra and Craigavad is vulnerable to the demand for still more development.
Previous Next