300 housing units under build in Westmeath, council confirm

About 300 housing units are under construction in the county at the moment and it is expected that 30 to 40 of them will be completed in Mullingar next year, 20 to 30 in Athlone, and a significant number will be ready by the first quarter of next year.

So far this year, 107 units were completed and it is expected that another four will be done by the end of the year, according to Mark Keaveney, director of services with Westmeath County Council, who was addressing a meeting of the Strategic Policy Committee on housing last week.

Mr Keaveney said that “in terms of turn keys”, units at Austin Friars Street, Mullingar, are almost complete, Oakcrest in Mullingar is nearing completion and will probably be delivered early next year. Lakepoint in Mullingar is under construction and will be ready early next year, as will Baylough in Athlone. St Mary’s Place in Athlone is ready to go to construction and it is hoped it will be completed next year.

The council have just acquired a 16.2 acre site in Athlone for housing. Approximately nine acres of it is zoned for residential use and the rest for green space. It will be taken into their pre-appraisal schemes this year or early next year.

Housing units have been completed at Bun Daire, Kinnegad, and Bishopsgate Street, Mullingar. Work is progressing on 31 units at Ennell Court, Mullingar, and 10 at McCormack’s Field, Cloghanboy, Athlone. The final unit at Rathgarve Green, Castlepollard, as well as units at Royal Canal, Mullingar, Cluain Rua, Rochfortbridge, Athlone Road, Moate, and Farran, Mullingar, were all completed earlier this year.

The final phase of a development at Ardmore Road, Mullingar, will be completed next year, while Garran Gael, Kinnegad, Springfield, Ashe Road and Charlestown, Mullingar, are all under construction at the moment.

Schemes are in the pipe line for St Brigid’s Green, Ennell Court and Dalton Park, Mullingar, Arcadia, Athlone, Canal Avenue, Mullingar and Water Street, Castlepollard; while schemes for Rindoon, Athlone, Killucan Childcare, Belvedere Orphanage, Tyrrellspass, Connaught Street, Abbey Road and Thornbury Drive, Athlone, and Ennell Court, Mullingar, are at an advanced stage of planning.

In relation to Traveller accommodation, Mr Keaveney said the council met residents of the Blackberry Lane area of Athlone recently and as a result of that, have updated their plans for the area. It is hoped that they can meet again before Christmas to finalise the plans and make a submission to the Department of Local Government.

The council have sent out a call for expressions of interest in providing affordable or mixed tender housing in Mullingar, Athlone, Moate and Kinnegad. They expect to have a response by early January. “Hopefully, we will progress some schemes on foot of that next year and the year after,” Mr Keaveney said.

The committee chairman, Cllr Ken Glynn, said Mullingar was “a hub of activity” at the moment and was eager to see the schemes under construction finalised and occupied. He highlighted, however, the plight of the “squeezed middle” – those earning too much to be on housing list, but too little to afford rent. He asked if there was “any talk of change” in relation to the income limits. He also spoke of the frustration felt by “just about everybody at this stage” over the number of vacant housing units around Mullingar and asked for a progress report on them.

Cllr Vinny McCormack asked, as the year comes to a close, if the council will be drawing down the full funding available to them under the housing adaptation grants or if will some be carried over to next year.

In reply to the members, Mr Keaveney said the council continues to “put great effort into returning vacant units to use”. He pointed out that they were one of the best performing local authorities in that respect. They have contractors in Athlone and Mullingar working on getting them finished and ready for reletting as soon as possible.

Mr Keaveney explained that some units require a significant amount of work. On average, the council spends more than €20,000 per unit and some that are older could need up to €40,000 or €50,000 spent on them. He said that the council was on to the contractors regularly, sometimes daily, to get the work done.

He went on to say that there is a commitment to press the department to review income levels for social housing and to review the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. “We take every opportunity to bring it up with the department,” he said, adding that council members had written to the department at least twice.

Mr Keaveney conceded that it was unlikely that the council would get to spend its full allocation of housing adaptation grants this year. He said that €1.4 million, including the council’s own provision, was available, and they have approved “something like €1.6 million” in grants. However, before the funds can be paid out the individual grantees must finish the work and submit invoices. The council is encouraging grantees to get the work done, but almost every year, there is a certain number of works that are carried over to the next year.

Mr Keaveney said the fund is allocated on an annual basis. It would be helpful if it was a multi-annual allocation, but the government does give the council authority to carry over projects and it does guarantee that the next year’s funding will be at least 50pc of what was allocated the previous year. “That is why we do over commit most years, in the knowledge that there will be funding in the year after – we make full use of the headway we are given by the department,” Mr Keaveney assured the meeting.