A plan to regenerate a former textiles factory site in Lisburn, Co Down has received planning permission.

The £100m project will see the site of the former Barbour Threads Linen factory being transformed into 605 apartments, 15,000 sq ft of light industry units and 17,000 sq ft of offices.

Hilden Developments (NI), a subsidiary of London-based developer, Galliard Homes, has been given the go-ahead from Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, after making an application for planning permission in November 2009.

A museum focusing on the history of the linen industry along with a riverside bar/restaurant, a gym, crèche, café and tourist-related retail space is also planned.

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Turley Associates advised Hilden Developments on the project.

"For over two years we have worked hard to engage with planning service and stakeholders to secure permission for a proposal which is reflective of the needs and wants of the area given the historic context of the site and linkages with the local community," said Turley Associates Director, Clyde Shanks.

"We adopted a collaborative approach to prepare the plans ensuring we protected and enhanced the existing listed and historically important buildings. After a long process we are delighted that planning permission has now been secured. It moves the existing vision of transforming the site into a dynamic riverside quarter for this historical area into a phase of implementation and making it happen, delivering a quality and desirable place to live, work and visit."

The scheme will create around 150 jobs.

(NS/BMcC)