Cork council defends pace of housing scheme with 121 new homes delivered in over a decade

Cork City Council said 121 homes have actually been delivered in four phases under the scheme — with construction on another 103 homes underway in three more phases. File Picture: Larry Cummins

Cork City Council has defended what Sinn Féin has described as the “snail's pace” delivery of a multi-million housing regeneration scheme which has yielded 121 new homes since it was adopted over a decade ago.

The party’s TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, claimed that just 99 new homes have been delivered through the massive North West Quarter Regeneration (NWQR) scheme for Knocknaheeny and Hollyhill, which was adopted in 2011 for delivery in phases over several years.

“It has been over two decades since I attended the first regeneration meeting of Knocknaheeny. In that time, only 99 new homes have been delivered. While regeneration is more than just bricks and mortar, the snail’s pace of delivery is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Mr Gould called for the immediate publication of a delayed progress report on the scheme that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said would be published before the end of 2024 back in January of that year.

“2025 must be the year that sees delivery of the NWQR pick up pace and regeneration projects start in Mayfield and Blackpool. We cannot continue at this snail’s pace,” he said.

However, the council said 121 homes have actually been delivered in four phases under the scheme — with construction on another 103 homes underway in three more phases, with two further phases at tender stage to deliver 105 homes, and another four phases at feasibility and design stage.

It said one of the under-construction phases was mired in a significant and complex contractual dispute, resulting in a significant delay. The council has now taken over the site, undertaken interim emergency and enabling works, and re-tendered the construction contract with work due to get underway in a few weeks.

'Significant' milestone 

A council spokesperson said the scheme is "proceeding at pace", but stressed that it is not comparable to a greenfield or brownfield site.

There are complexities associated with it, including engagement with residents in the phased vacation of homes, the relocation of tenants, and demolition and enabling works before construction can start.

Meanwhile, the council says it has provided 212 affordable homes at sites across the city under its affordable housing scheme, and that it is on course to deliver 452 new homes by 2026 — exceeding the Government’s housing for all scheme target of 378.

The council's chief executive, Valerie O’Sullivan, said increasing housing supply is one of the council’s top priorities.

“This milestone in affordable housing output is significant, as it demonstrates the Trojan work being done by our brilliant housing team and how effectively they have engaged and collaborated with developers across the city to support first home buyers and fresh start buyers in their efforts to get on or back on the housing ladder,” she said.

Two more affordable housing schemes, 45 homes at Glenmore Heights in Lehenaghmore and 86 homes at Glenbride on the Old Mallow Rd, are already under construction and are due to launch for applicants before the end of March.