Letters of offer issued for new Mayo urban housing estate

LETTERS of offer for the Rehins Fort housing development in Ballina have been sent out by Mayo County Council but members of the local authority have questioned if further schemes are on the way given the current huge demand for housing.

A lack of information on planned housing developments outside of those at Rehins Fort and Church Manor in Ballina didn't look good, said Councillor Michael Loftus at the October monthly meeting of Ballina Municipal District, with Councillors Seamus Weir (Ballina MD cathaoirleach) and Jarlath Munnelly backing him in full agreement.

Director of Services Tom Gilligan said there are definite plans for two prominent sites in Ballina, and he is anxious to progress an Affordable Purchase Scheme for the town.

Councillor Mark Duffy said the delay in getting schemes approved is the main issue and pointed out that some of them could be fast-tracked. That needed to be made clear to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. “The process is too slow,” he complained.

Referencing the offer letters for Rehins Fort, Councillor Weir said some people on the housing list would now be happy but an awful lot would be sad.

He said the issue of housing should soon be a Ballina MD agenda item as they needed an update on housing and to see if they could progress it. “We can't wait forever.”

As the debate on housing developed to address vacant houses and repairs to council stock, administration officer Carmel Murphy said delays often come down to a shortage of contractors.

Regardless, said Mr. Gilligan, there has been great interest in the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, with over 300 applications throughout Co. Mayo.

“Vacancy and dereliction is a scourge, and the grants are proving very popular,” he added.

Councillor Munnelly said that with regard to the vacant property scheme, there should be some flexibility in allowing people to knock and rebuild a property if the need arises during the construction phase. “It's all about reducing vacancy, so there should be some latitude on it.”

On a general point, he said there are a whole range of grants available that the government are trying to promote, such as the serviced sites initiative, and he didn't think they were being ambitious enough in Mayo in pursuing those schemes.

“The schemes are there; it's up to us to drive them home.”