Local authority to use completed ghost estate for social housing

By Eoin English

Houses in a former ghost estate have been completed today as part of a new approach to address the State's social housing crisis.

The homes in what was the unfinished Tanner housing estate in Bandon, Co Cork, will be made available to 24 families on Cork County Council’s housing waiting list through a partnership between NAMA and the National Association of Building Co-Operatives (NABCO), the national co-operative housing provider.

The homes are a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses with open plan living spaces and attractive landscaped gardens close to the centre of the busy west Cork town.

Last year, NABCO piloted the new model, working with NAMA to deliver a housing development in Cobh in East Cork that provided homes for 13 local families.

The scheme will be replicated in other local authority areas across the country where a social housing need and suitable estates have been identified.

Speaking at the completion of the lease agreement in Bandon this morning, NABCO President Declan Hudson said: “As a co-operative member myself, I know the difference that these homes will make to people’s lives.

"During the current housing crisis, NABCO has been grateful to work with Nama to secure much-needed housing for families across Ireland.”

Nama chairman, Frank Daly, who attended this morning's handover, said the successful partnership with NABCO underlines Nama's commitment to finding homes for people who need them and making a wider social contribution that is consistent with its commercial mandate.

"NABCO’s approach to partnering with us shows what can be achieved and we look forward to more of these successful initiatives with NABCO and other social housing bodies," he said.