Cork County Council to deliver 1,230 social houses to people on waiting list next year
Cork County Council says it expects to provide 1,230 much-needed social houses next year for people on its waiting list.
The local authority says 2020 will be its 'peak year' in construction in its plan to provide 3,360 units of accommodation in the period from 2018 – 2022.
The council is one of the top-performing in the country for providing social housing and in the first year of the programme broke government targets.
Last year it delivered 295 units, which was 26% above the target set.
This year it expects to provide a further 487 units and then significantly ratchet up delivery in 2020.
Seamus De Faoite, the council's acting director of housing services, said that while the majority of new homes were being built in the Metropolitan Cork area and in the bigger towns, they were acutely aware of the need to provide them in rural areas as well.
He said that the local authority carried out a housing needs assessment every year within its jurisdiction. It uses this to calculate where it needs to provide the most homes.
We are working closely with our own rural development department to ensure that we also provide homes in our smaller towns and villages.
Last year, he said, the council built 25 houses itself and bought 97 "turnkey" (finished) properties from developers.
It acquired a further 85 from developers under Part 5 Planning. This requires private developers to hand over 10% of the homes they build to local authorities for social housing.
The remaining houses were provided to the council by voluntary housing bodies.
"This year we expect to acquire houses across the same range of options. This year we will acquire around 300 turnkey properties, build about 80 ourselves and get the rest through Part 5 and voluntary housing bodies," Mr De Faoite said.
"The plan will peak in 2020. As developers get going we expect we'll get an increased amount of houses delivered through Part 5."
