Cork City Council delivered 461 new homes in its 2018 construction period – exceeding targets set for it by the Department of Housing.
Under the Department of Housing’s 2017-2021 social housing delivery targets, Cork City Council was set a target of 361 new homes.
Cork City Council provided:
157 vacant properties were refurbished with Department of Housing funding, only 50 of which are counted towards the Rebuilding Ireland targets In addition to this, the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) supported another 752 new tenancies last year, meaning that 1,320 social housing solutions were delivered by Cork City Council in 2018.
As of this month, February 2019, a further 446 social housing units are in construction by Cork City Council & the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector.
An additional 562 units are at various stages in the project pipeline, with several hundred additional units being planned under the EU Competitive Dialogue procurement programme. Further additions to the project pipeline are currently at appraisal stage and the delivery programme is expected to further expand as the year progresses.
Housing Director of Services, Brian Geaney said: “At the outset of the Rebuilding Ireland programme, due to Cork City’s confined and limited urban space and related constraints, Cork City Council faced significant stakeholder, legal, engineering and other challenges that would normally not be faced by most local authorities’’.
“To deliver a housing programme in these circumstances, we had to establish, with our very supportive elected members, an innovative and resourceful delivery team and methodology. Cork City Council is performing very well in these circumstances. The City Council is fully committed and is confident of delivering the targets outlined in Rebuilding Ireland 2017 – 2021. We are pleased with the results and look forward to delivering significant additional new homes in 2019; I would like to thank all who supported the Council in this achievement’’.
Under Rebuilding Ireland, a target of 2,230 new housing units has been set for Cork City Council from 2017-2021.
