14 March 2017
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Minister for Housing Simon Coveney
Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney TD will today (14 March, 2017) be joined by Cllr Derry Canty, Deputising for the Mayor of the Cork, in visiting Cork County Council’s Turnkey Housing Scheme in Castletreasure, Douglas.
The visit will mark the handover of 16 dwellings which form Phase 2 of this development. This scheme is the first to be delivered since the Council embarked, in 2015, on an ambitious Turnkey Project to deliver new social housing in conjunction with the private sector, at various locations across the County.
The development which is located on an unfinished housing site within Green Valley Estate, is being constructed in three phases at a total cost of €9.3m. It is part of the Council’s delivery programme under Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness and is funded by the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government:
– Phase 1: Refurbishment & Occupation of twelve existing & unfinished properties.
– Phase 2: The Completion of construction on a second phase of 16 new build housing units.
– Phase 3: The Construction of a final phase of 12 units.
This scheme has been designed and constructed to an extremely high standard by Castlerock Homes. It consists of 40 social units sited within a large private housing development fostering a good sense of community, inclusion and integration.
The site is well located, within walking distance of Grange and within a short commute of Cork City. It has good connectivity and linkage to local amenities and enjoys good public transport access.
The innovative Turnkey Development solution used to deliver this project is also being utilised to progress other similar housing projects in Cork County.
Cork County Council currently has 16 turnkey housing sites at various stages in the development process, with the potential to deliver 376 new social houses between now and the end of 2018.
Speaking at the launch, Cllr Derry Canty – Deputising for the Mayor of the Cork – spoke of the opportunities available under the Turnkey Project, “Initiatives such as this scheme allow Cork County Council to provide social housing in an inclusive and innovative manner by engaging the private sector to deliver social housing while operating in tandem with traditional social housing construction processes to maximise output. Turnkey housing of this nature engages the market, stimulates the local economy and creates local construction activity and jobs.”
Cllr Derry Canty (Fine Gael)
A further 4 potential projects which can deliver an additional 68 houses have been identified by the Council and are to be submitted to the Minister’s Department for approval in the coming weeks.
Minister Coveney congratulated Cork County Council on this scheme which he noted is designed and constructed to an extremely high standard. He noted that ‘Turnkeys are not the only activity in the county and I am pleased to note that there are 10 construction projects which have been sanctioned by my Department along with 10 Capital Assistance schemes” He said that “local authorities such as Cork County Council are central to achieving the targets set out in Rebuilding Ireland and reminded them to do all within their power to ensure that all suitable potential sources of housing supply are activated as quickly as possible”
