400 new homes to begin construction in Cork under new Housing initiative

MORE than 400 new houses will be under construction in Cork city by the start of May.

A €97 million investment in the city's social housing stock is set to make the most significant impact on housing provision in the city in more than a decade.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney was in the city this morning to unveil one of the completed schemes at Sheridan Park on the Tramore Road.

In all, more than 1,300 new homes are being provided through construction, house purchases, social leasing, collaborations with approved housing bodies and the restoration of vacant housing units.

By early May, Cork City Council hopes to have commenced construction at 18 sites in the city, including Church Road in Blackrock, Skehard Road and Barrack Street.

Schemes at Wood Street, Farranree, Tramore Road, High Street, Blarney Street and Corcoran's Quay have also been approved to proceed to planning and tendering, while construction has already commenced at Gerald Griffin Street and Deanrock in Togher.

A planning application for 153 units at Boherboy Road is up for decision at the end of this month, while the city has purchased 131 houses to meet social housing needs.

In total, 840 vacant units have been returned to use in two years, with 150 units provided by approved housing bodies over the same period.

A further 361 units are being advanced by these bodies for the delivery of additional units by late 2018 or early 2019.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney praised the city for taking a 'pioneering role in relation to the construction of social housing.'

"The acute shortage of homes available to those who need them is one of the greatest challenges facing this country today. It is having a profound effect on the daily lives of many individuals and families," he said.

"We need to deliver on these plans, but we need also to do so in a way that leaves a positive legacy when we look back in 20 years’ time," added Mr Coveney.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Des Cahill, said it has been a long time since the city has been able to add to its housing stock in such a manner.

He said, "These homes and the hundreds of others either under construction, purchased, repaired or in planning are a tangible example of what the housing directorate can do, and how quickly it can do it, when funding and autonomy become available."