200 new council houses over the next 18 months

CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATED AT €35 MILLION

A TOTAL of 200 local authority houses costing an estimated €35 million are to be built in Wexford town and district over the next 18 months.

The good news for families and individuals on the Council housing list, was announced by officials at a meeting last week.

Plans for the construction of houses in the following areas were unveiled by housing executive Padraig O’Gorman and the County Architect Shay Howell - 11 units in Ballywish, Castlebridge; 6 units in Ballyhine, Barntown, 43 units in Rowestown, Rosslare, 7 units in Coolcotts, 34 units in Clonard, 14 units in Park, 42 units in Killeens and 44 units at Whiterock Hill.

The plans for each scheme are at varying stages of progress but the aim is to have them all completed over the next 18 months, according to officials. The units are in addition to housing projects already under construction in Wexford, including 10 houses at Slippery Green.

The funding is coming from Department of the Environment under the Government’s Housing Strategry 2020 with finance already secured for some of the proposed schemes and applications under consideration for others. Wexford County Council has set itself a target of delivering 2,800 social housing units in County Wexford in the three years between 2017 and 2019.

The Wexford house building schedule was enthusiastically welcomed by members of the District Council.

‘While we have a chronic shortage of housing within social housing and the private market, these plans represent a very good step in the right direction and will go some way towards relieving the tremendous stress being experienced by people who are in urgent need for housing’, said Labour councillor George Lawlor.

‘During the so-called boom years, councils across the country were instructed to stop building houses and focus on allowing the private sector to provide housing’, he said.

‘This had a disastrous effect on housing departments with the skills and knowledge in this area drying up. We’ve had to deal with the fall-out of this over recent years and are only now beginning to pick up’, he said.

‘We have a long way to go but this represents a good start in Wexford town and district’, said Cllr. Lawlor, adding that the provision of local authority housing will free up homes in the pressurised private rental market.