Cork council plans for major housing schemes may be scuppered by water and sewerage issues

Cork County Council has been warned it be restricted in several areas for building as Uisce Éireann is not supplying it with plans for water and sewerage upgrades in the region

The council said while it can provide infrastructure such as roads, footpaths and lighting, it is entirely dependent on Uisce Éireann to supply it with the necessary water and sewerage connections for such developments.

Cork County Council is in talks with the national Land Development Agency (LDA) to purchase more land for urgently needed housing.

However, it has been warned it could be restricted in several areas for building as Uisce Éireann is not supplying it with plans for water and sewerage upgrades in the region.

Council chief executive Moira Murrell has flagged that the local authority is running out of its own landbanks and must acquire more land to build on by purchasing it from the private sector.

She said the council needed to target “big schemes” in the future.

The council has appointed a senior member of management to review landbanks across the county and identify suitable sites for possible acquisition.

In the meantime, it is to put out a call shortly to private developers to supply it with new "turnkey proposals". 

This is where developers propose building a number of houses and the local authority buys them when they are completed.

The council said in a number of cases, big building projects would be dependent on having the necessary infrastructure in place.

While it can provide infrastructure such as roads, footpaths and lighting, it is entirely dependent on Uisce Éireann to supply it with the necessary water and sewerage connections for such developments.

Following a motion by Independent councillor Finbarr Harrington, the council wrote to Uisce Éireann some weeks ago asking that it allow private developers to carry out these works themselves and when the infrastructure was completed the utility then take it over.

The council received a written reply from the utility which Mr Harrington described as “not very clear” on the request.

He also criticised Uisce Éireann for not coming to the table and telling the council what plans it had for major enhancement of its services in the region.

“We’re trying to zone land for future housing where we don’t know the current and future capacities [of water and wastewater]. We need a full report from them. There is no point us zoning land where can’t build due to lack of infrastructure,” Mr Harrington said.

Mayor of County Cork, Independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley agreed with him and it was decided to write back to the utility again, asking it outline any planned upgrading of its existing systems and plans for new ones.

Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre O’Brien said developers were queuing up to build houses in Mitchelstown, but could not build them because the wastewater treatment plant is at capacity.

Meanwhile, councillors have said while the local authority is building a lot of social housing, it must develop more affordable housing and cost-rental schemes and it needs to act quicker in repairing idle properties and renting them to new tenants.

Fianna Fáil councillors Gobnait Moynihan and Patrick Gerard Murphy and Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said more affordable homes must be provided.

They are given by the council at a discounted market value to people who earn too much to qualify for social housing, but too little to get a mortgage from a financial institution.

Mr Murphy added “a lot of stuff” was outside of the council’s control and pointed out in the past, the Office of the Planning Regulator had shot down land zoned by the council for housing at a number of sites in the county.