Developer contacts Killeens residents following protest at housing estate

THE developer of a 44-unit social-housing development near Blarney has made contact with local residents following calls to “engage in meaningful dialogue” with them and public representatives.

The social-housing units are to be built on the site of Lios Cara estate in Killeens, in addition to the existing 94 houses. Residents recently learned that the original plan for 44 additional private dwellings in the next phase of their estate was changed to 100% social housing.

Cork City Council has entered into an agreement with a developer to build seven two-bedroom townhouses, 32 three-bedroom townhouses, and five four-bedroom semi-detached houses on the site.

On Tuesday evening, a meeting of the Lios Cara residents and the wider Killeens community was held, and residents gave a clear mandate for the protest against the developer to proceed the following morning. On Wednesday morning, the Lios Cara residents’ committee engaged in a peaceful protest on the site in an attempt to engage the developer in further dialogue in relation to the project, which residents say should include a mixed development plan of social, affordable, and private, to satisfy the needs of all.

The developer, based in the UK, contacted the committee via email on Wednesday and residents sought date and time options to meet the developer’s local representatives and also public representatives.

The committee has said the protest will continue until residents meet with the developer and until the developer “considers the needs and concerns of the estate, as well as revisit the existing agreement with the housing services”.

Speaking to The Echo, a spokesperson for Cork City Council said: 

“The housing development at Lios Cara, with planning permission in place, did not require part 8 planning approval and just recently progressed to contract award and project agreement under the competitive dialogue procurement process, with all contractual matters now complete, and the developer has now commenced construction.

“The procurement process for this development has a necessary requirement for confidentiality and, in the case of a project which already has planning permission in place, the details of this development will not be publicly available through the course of the procurement competition.

“The exception, in the case of competitive dialogue projects, is where a development requires part 8 planning approval, whereby the statutory planning process will be engaged.”

The spokesperson said that from a housing perspective, the 44 new homes will “provide much-needed social housing under Cork City Council’s Housing Delivery Action Plan 2022-2026”.