Home » Tag Archives: social housing (page 3)

Tag Archives: social housing

Illegal encampment may jeapordise future of planned social housing in Ennis

AN illegal encampment may jeapordise the future of a planned development of social housing in Ennis, it is feared. Plans are underway by the council to build 40 housing units at Ashline to, according to the council, “address the high needs in the Ennis area”. However, a family has set up an illegal encampment in a nearby laneway regularly used as a shortcut to Ennis National School. Last month Clare County Council assisted the gardaí in removing the barriers after parents told how their young children didn’t feel safe going to school along the route. Members of the Ennis Municipal District voiced their concerns at their monthly meeting where plans for the housing development proposal at Ashline were outlined. A preliminary public consultation meeting about the development is set to be held on Tuesday next,  June 19 in the Temple Gate Hotel from 6pm to 7.30pm. While councillors welcomed the plans, they highlighted the need for the illegal encampment to …

Read More »

New houses for Feakle

A Part 8 process for the development of a 13-house scheme in Feakle has been unanimously approved by the members of Clare County Council. The new scheme is being developed as part of the Rebuilding Ireland Programme and is the first social housing development in Feakle since 1973. The development, which comprises a mix of three and two-bed houses to cater for the needs of the area, has gone through extensive public and department consultation and includes a new pedestrian way linking the main street to the school and playground. Councillor Tom McNamara, Mayor of Clare, said, “The design, accessibility and usability of previous social housing developments in County Clare have been of the highest standard and I am sure these schemes will be welcomed by applicants on the Council’s waiting list for social housing.” Councillor Gerry Flynn, Chair of the Social Development SPC, commented, “2018 is the year for moving projects into construction stage. This is a positive step …

Read More »

Funding for social housing in Ennis

The Minister of State with responsibility for Employment, Trade, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection Pat Breen said the Department of Housing has approved support capital funding of €45,600 for the purchase of six apartments in Ennis. “The €45,000, which is 10 per cent of the cost of the Loreto Apartments in Ennis, will be provided to the Approved Housing Body (AHB) – CHI, by Clare County Council to secure their purchase for social housing. The funding will then be reimbursed to the council by the Department,” said Minister Breen. “This Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) funding is capital support provided to AHBs, by local authorities, to assist with the financing of the construction or acquisition of units that will be provided for social housing use,” said the Clare minister of state. CALF is a loan facility that can support up to 30% of the eligible capital cost of the project, where the units will be provided under …

Read More »

€1.6m to build eight houses

FUNDING of close to €1.6 million has been provided to build eight new local authority homes in Ennis. A provisional budget has been approved by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to build eight homes at Beech Court, Roslevan, Ennis. These homes will be made up of two two-bedroom single-story homes, five three-bedroom two-storey houses and one four-bedroom two-storey house. A total of €1,248,200 will be allocated to Clare County Council for the construction of these houses, while a further €200,000 will be provided to the local authority for site costs, with the remainder of the funding for technical fees, salaries and utilities. The funding for the eight new homes on a site at Beech Court and Beech View, which already has a housing stock of 48 houses, is being provided under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. Minister of State for Employment and Small Business Pat Breen said, “This latest funding for new …

Read More »

Social housing for Feakle and Clonlara

Clare County Council has signed contracts for the provision of two new social housing developments in Feakle and Clonlara. The 10-unit scheme in Feakle is funded by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and is scheduled for completion in early 2019. The scheme of 10 houses in Clonlara also is funded by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and is scheduled for completion in early 2019. Councillor Bill Chambers, cathaoirleach of Clare County Council said, “The design, accessibility and usability of previous social housing developments in County Clare have been of the highest standard and I am sure these schemes will be welcomed by applicants on the Council’s waiting list for social housing.” Pat Dowling, chief executive of Clare County Council, said, “Clare County Council is committed to building sustainable and successful communities through the provision of quality and affordable housing developments. The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government continues to support …

Read More »

Council gets funding to renovate and re-let houses

Clare County Council has been approved €659,554 to bring local authority houses back into use throughout the county. The money will be used to renovate 30 houses for re-letting. The council applied for funding to renovate 87 derelict houses.However, three applications were rejected and a further 56 are in the process of being assessed. Clare Deputy Joe Carey said, “There are two programmes that enable local authorities to refurbish vacant social housing requiring more significant works than the normal level of pre-letting repairs. The Voids programme provides funding of up to €30,000 per unit while the Derelicts programme is aimed at more seriously derelict social houses,” Deputy Carey explained. “The Housing Agency is being provided with €70 million to engage with lending institutions to acquire properties for social housing and this is expected to deliver 1,600 units over the period to 2020. Other measures include a ‘Repair and Leasing’ initiative to allow property owners bring vacant properties up to standard …

Read More »

Council seeking housing schemes and sites

Clare County Council is inviting tenders for the supply of completed housing schemes that are fit for purpose for social housing in  towns and villages where a housing need exists. The local authority is also seeking tenders for land banks and development sites. The council says the move is aimed at increasing the number of accommodation units being brought into use across County Clare, as part of the implementation in Clare of the National Social Housing Strategy. Leonard Cleary, acting director of service, housing, said, “Clare County Council has responsibility for the provision and maintenance of appropriate social housing within its functional area. Each year Clare County Council is involved in the lease, purchase, construction and financing of social housing and is seeking to increase the number of accommodation units being brought into use by various means available under the Social Housing Strategy 2020.” “It is intended that part of the housing need in County Clare will be addressed by …

Read More »

Vacant houses hold key to unlocking crisis

CLARE County Council has appealed to property owners to make their vacant homes available for social housing, in a bid to ease the “epidemic” accommodation shortage. According to the council’s director of services for housing, Ger Dollard, one of the keys to unlocking the solution is through the use of vacant properties. Owners of the thousands of currently empty properties in Clare are being encouraged to make contact with the local authority, with a view to making more homes available for those on the waiting list. Mr Dollard told a meeting of Clare County Council that this is the “real solution” to dealing with the housing issue in the short term. Figures contained in the 2011 Census show there are 11,782 vacant housing units in Clare out of a total housing stock of 55,616 units. The vacancy rate of 21.2% is the second highest in Munster and higher than the national average of 14.5%. At the meeting, Mr Dollard agreed …

Read More »