The Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Gillian Coughlan has welcomed the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD to Cork County to visit six newly constructed Social Housing Developments in Skibbereen, Clonakilty and Macroom. These developments consist of three Public Private Partnership (PPP) Schemes, two Turnkey Developments and one Own Build Development.
Mayor Coughlan highlighted how:
In meeting the challenges of housing supply, Cork County Council has been to the forefront, and has successfully provided homes through a variety of delivery streams across our county and this is evident today with our visits to Own Build, Turnkey and PPP developments. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to deliver sustainable housing solutions that will meet the needs of the county. I am delighted to see that the hard work and collaboration of all is reflected in these excellent schemes that we have visited today.
Minister O’Brien added:
This year 9,000 new social homes will be built across the country – delivery on a level not seen for many years. The targets in Housing for All are significant, ambitious and necessary, and the work Local Authorities do on the ground will be key to us achieving those targets. Today I’m seeing how Cork County Council is rising to that challenge – leading the way in providing high-quality, new social homes for people and families on their waiting list. Because ultimately Housing for All is not about targets or units of delivery, it’s about transforming lives – and the homes I’ve seen today will do exactly that.
The Own Build development is located at Beechgrove, Clonakilty and provides for 57 dwellings consisting of 51 new build one and two storey 1-bed, 2-bed, 3-bed and 4- bed units and a specially adapted unit. In addition to the new build, six apartments are housed in the original Beechgrove House and associated outbuildings which have been carefully renovated to best conservation principles and are at the centre of the scheme. The development was conceived and managed by Cork County Council and constructed by MMD Contractors. An external design team lead by Coady Architects with HHP consulting engineers and John J Casey & Co. acting as engineers and quantity surveyors for the job respectively have worked closely with Cork County Council to deliver a scheme that respects the scale and nature of surrounding developments and existing structures in a sensitive manner. These A-rated homes, heated with renewable energy heat source pumps, are a positive addition to Cork County Council’s building stock and are providing additional homes for families within Clonakilty.
The Public Private Partnership schemes are located at Páirc Goodman, Skibbereen (50 units), Páirc Uí Thiar, Clonakilty (52 units) and Páirc Uí Mhuirithe, Macroom (50 units.) The schemes involve a mix of 2, 3 & 4 bedroom “A” rated energy efficient houses. Construction works commenced on the project in November 2019, with a phased completion of the schemes between Q2 and Q4 2021.
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey, commenting on the developments added:
The provision of these quality, energy efficient homes are greatly assisting housing needs in areas of high demand like Skibbereen, Clonakilty and Macroom. Cork County Council’s continuing commitment to meeting housing needs through the Social Housing Capital Programme will see in excess of 3,000 social housing units being provided in the period 2022- 2026 across County Cork.
Cork County Council is the Lead Local Authority for the Social Housing PPP Bundle 2 Project (SHB2), which involves a Design, Build, Finance & Manage 25-year contract delivering 465 units in eight schemes across six counties – Cork, Kildare, Galway, Waterford, Roscommon & Clare.
The new homes were delivered with the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage as the approving authority, with Cork County Council as sponsoring agency and lead local authority, on behalf of the respective local authorities, and the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) acting as financial advisor, procuring authority and project manager. TORC Housing Partnership were awarded the Social Housing PPP Bundle 2 contract. The TORC Housing Partnership consortium includes Equitix Ltd / Kajima Partnerships Ltd, JJ Rhatigan / OHL, Derwent FM and Tuath Housing Association.
The Turnkey Developments in Macroom and the Own Build Development in Clonakilty are funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage through the Social Housing Investment Programme.
Cork County Council continues to successfully deliver social housing schemes through its Turnkey housing model. The developments in Macroom are located at two separate sites at Árd an tSuláin (12 units) and An Goirtín Rua (14 units).The first scheme of twelve houses consisting of a mix of six no. 2 bed houses and six no. 3 bed houses was completed by Vella homes while the second scheme of fourteen houses consisting of a mix of four no. 2 bed houses and ten no. 3 bed houses was completed by JD Buckley Construction working for MIlaqua Developments. These units will help reduce the housing waiting list in Macroom through the provision of high-quality family homes.
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