Council to increase number of affordable homes it will build in Cork next year

Demand in Co Cork for affordable homes is far outstripping supply with 802 applications for the 174 recently built such homes

Cork County Council plans to provide 419 more affordable homes within the next year. In addition, 131 low-cost rental homes are also being planned. File photo

Cork County Council is to significantly ratchet up the number of ‘discounted’ affordable homes it will build next year.

They are designed for people in the ‘squeezed middle’ who earn too little to afford a property on the open market and too much to qualify for social housing.

The council plans to provide 419 more of these homes within the next year. In addition, 131 low-cost rental homes are also being planned. Applications for the first of these schemes in Bantry will be invited in the coming weeks.

The council has also released figures for the number of applications it has had for recently built affordable homes. Demand is far outstripping supply with 802 applications for the 174 such homes. They cost 25% less than the normal market prices.

Maurice Manning, head of the council’s housing directorate, said he wasn’t surprised by the interest as in 2022 the local authority carried out surveys which showed where the major demand for affordable housing was in the county.

The first 30 units were built at Clonmore, Mallow and attracted 132 applications. A second phase of 10 houses there received a further 58 expressions of interest.

However, the largest applications, 229, were made for 32 houses at The Water’s Edge in Carrigaline. The council offered 49 affordable homes at Cluaid Ard, Cobh for which 150 applications were received.

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A 20-house development at Rathealy Close, Fermoy got 79 applications and an exact same number of houses at Allman’s View in Bandon received 72.

The latest allocation of 13 houses at the Fairways in Midleton brought in 82 applications.

The council has just opened applications for 15 affordable houses at Meadowlands, Macroom and on Monday, October 7, will open applications for a further 23 at Baile Adaim, Carrigtwohill. The latter is expected to attract significant interest due to its close proximity to IDA industrial parks and rail connectivity to jobs in Cork City.

Future builds

Mr Manning revealed the county council intends to construct more such homes in the likes of Bantry, Youghal, Carrigaline, Clonakilty, Mallow and Kinsale.

He said 12 will be built in Bantry along with a further 10 which will be for low-cost rental. Youghal will get 13 affordable and 11 low-cost rental homes and Clonakilty will get 31 affordable.

The biggest affordable housing scheme will be 134 at St Joseph’s Road, Mallow, while a further 112 will be built in Commogue, Kinsale and 60 at Kilnagleary, Carrigaline.

It is expected that construction of the houses in Clonakilty will start early next year, with the ones in Kinsale following along with the schemes in Mallow and Carrigaline.

“Affordable housing delivery is ahead of targets that have been set. The council will continue to expand the programme to meet the demand that has been demonstrated for the houses that have been made available so far. 

"There's a market for affordable housing throughout the county and we intend to develop schemes in each municipal district,” Mr Manning said.