A listed building which was once home to a thriving flax mill in the heart of the Village area of south Belfast is being transformed into 54 new homes by Clanmil Housing.

Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Tracy Kelly was welcomed to the site on Rydalmere Street, off the Donegall Road, by Clanmil Housing's Group Chief Executive Carol McTaggart, to find out more about the transformation of the former mill which dates from the 1920s.

The Lord Mayor met the team of developers, engineers and architects who are transforming the listed building into apartments due to be completed in Summer 2027.

The homes will include six one-bedroom apartments, 31 two-bedroom apartments and 17 three-bedroom apartments. 10 of the apartments will be for the over 55 age category and three will be wheelchair accessible. They will be allocated to people on the social housing waiting list.

Carol McTaggart, Clanmil’s Group Chief Executive said:

“We believe that everyone deserves to live in a comfortable, high-quality home. Our plans to transform this former factory into new apartments means we can go some way toward reducing the high waiting lists for social housing in Belfast. We are delighted to welcome the Lord Mayor today to the site and outline our vision for the new homes, which we hope will enhance the strong community spirit in this part of the city.”

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tracy Kelly, said:

“Visiting the Rydalmere Street site, where the new Clanmil social housing will be, means a lot personally – as, away from my role as Lord Mayor, I had worked on seeing this turned around from providing private to 100 percent social housing. Seeing the potential of this development is very encouraging. This type of regeneration, led by Clanmil, is very much in line with the ambitions of our Belfast Agenda community plan - improving quality of life for our residents by delivering modern, affordable homes for those in need.”

Director of Greater Village Regeneration Trust, Sarah Bowden added:

“We welcome the provision of new social housing for the Village and Donegall Road Area at the former Douglas and Graham buildings at Rydalmere Street and look forward to working with all concerned through the delivery of this project and will continue to work with all partners including Clanmil Housing to assist local residents through the process.

We have been involved in this project from the outset and to see it finally come to fruition is excellent news for the local community, who have been crying out for more social housing for many years.”