The local Councillor was speaking after 400 plants were seized from a property in the Broadway area.
Councillor Paula Bradshaw said: “The swift removal of these plants is the result of effective police work after officers followed up on a tip from a member of the public.
“The local community has been reporting a strange smell over the past few weeks which was initially passed to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Belfast City Council, before the PSNI got involved, proving a joint-up approach will deliver results.
“This is an especially worrying discovery as women and children are often in the local vicinity using both the Windsor Women Centre – which operates as an after schools facility – and the new TATE health and well-being centre.
“Moving forward there is now a need for the Department of Social Development to acquire the entire block of five houses for major refurbishment, as part of the overall housing redevelopment currently taking place in the immediate area.”