Ben Eden Avenue Off Downview Drive, BT15 was proposed by The Carvill Group; the group also proposed Ben Eden Court, Ben Eden Green and Ben Eden Park also Off Downview. These proposals were accepted at the Health and Environmental Services Committee on Monday, 10th April, 2000.
Ben Eadan House was built in 1849 for a linen merchant – Valentine Whitla (1786-1865) in a similar style to that of Charles Lanyon. He was also Chairman of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners and Whitla Street in Sailortown was named after him (John J. Marshall, Belfast Telegraph, 24/02/1941). It remained a private house before the Redemptorist Community in Belfast bought it in 1951 and built St Clement’s Retreat House. Ben Eadan House was demolished in 1960. (This information was sourced from J. A. K. Dean’s book The Plight of the Big House in Northern Ireland). The house was spelt "Ben Eden" in some directories. There was also Ben Eden Terrace on Shore Road in Greencastle. It is noteworthy that the group of streets with names including "Ben Eden" are not particuarly near Whitla's house Ben Eadan or Ben Eden Terrace, but are somewhat closer to Belfast.
The name Ben Eadan / Eden probably consists of the anglicised form of two Irish words, binn, 'peak, crag, cliff' and éadan, 'brow'. However, we are not aware of any Irish place-name like *Binn Éadain underlying this name. Indeed the name would seem to make better sense with the elements in the reverse order. It is possible that refers to some aspect of Cave Hill (Binn Mhadagáin), at the foot of which the house Ben Eadan was situated.